[Principal component analysis and cluster analysis of inorganic elements in Panax quinque folium. L]

The contents of elements such as Mg, Al, P, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Sr, Mo, Cd and Pb in twelve Panax quinque folium. L samples were determined by means of ICP/MS. The results were used for the development of element fingerprint chromatogram. The principal component analysis of SPSS was applied for the study of characteristic elements in Panax quinque folium. L. Five principal components which accounted for over 90% of the total variance were extracted from the original data. The analysis results show that Fe, Al, V, Mn, Mg, Sr, Mo, Ca and Cu may be the characteristic elements in Panax quinque folium. L. The results of Q-type cluster analysis show that the samples could be clustered reasonably into five groups, and the elemental distribution characteristics are related to the breeds of Panax quinque folium. L.