Determination of Mineral Elements in Nanyang Mugwort (Artemisia argyi) Leaves Harvested from Different Crops by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry.

Due to high need for medical purposes, multiple harvests of mugwort (Artemisia argyi) have been extensively applied in China for the increase of mugwort yield recently. However, the investigation on the mineral elements in different crops, which are significantly related to mugwort growth and the clinical efficacy of this medicinal herb, has not been conducted. This study provided an analytical method and quality evaluation for mineral elements in Nanyang mugwort leaves harvested from three different crops. The contents of 35 mineral elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). ANOVA, principal component analysis and factor analysis were applied to evaluate the results. Four principal components were identified and their comprehensive evaluation function was as follows: F = 0.7008Fl + 0.1236F2 + 0.0936F3 + 0.0321F4. The comprehensive scores of the mugwort leaves from different crops were ranked as follows: 3rd crop > 2nd crop ≈ 1st crop. These findings can provide a reference for the quality control and clinical use of mugwort leaves, and a guidance of differential nourishing strategies for different crops.