Chemical Differentiation of Genetically Identified <i>Atractylodes japonica</i>, <i>A. macrocephala</i>, and <i>A. chinensis</i> Rhizomes Using High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography with Chemometric Analysis

Abstract

The rhizome of <i>Atractylodes japonica</i>, which is a herbal medicine used for gastrointestinal therapeutics, has been categorized with <i>A. macrocephala</i> rhizome or <i>A. chinensis</i> rhizome based on different therapeutic criteria in Korea, China, and Japan. In the present study, 61 <i>A. japonica</i>, <i>A. macrocephala</i>, and <i>A. chinensis</i> rhizomes were collected from Korea and China and were genetically identified by internal transcribed spacer sequencing analysis. Chromatographic profiles were obtained from high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the methanol and hot-water extracts of <i>Atractylodes</i> rhizomes and chemical differentiation of the rhizomes was carried out using chemometric statistical analyses such as principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, and Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis. The results from chromatographic profiles and chemometric analyses demonstrate that <i>A. japonica</i> rhizomes showed apparent chemical differences from <i>A. macrocephala</i> and <i>A. chinensis</i> rhizomes in the methanol extracts. In contrast, no clear distinction was apparent for the hot-water extracts of <i>Atractylodes</i> rhizomes, especially <i>A. chinensis</i> rhizomes. These results indicate that there is a clear chemical difference between <i>A. japonica</i> and <i>A. macrocephala</i> rhizomes; however, the chemical diversity of <i>A. chinensis</i> rhizome shows different chemical relationships with <i>A. japonica</i> or <i>A. macrocephala</i> rhizome, dependent on the chemical features.