[Content of mineral elements of Gastrodia elata by principal components analysis]

To study the content of mineral elements and the principal components in Gastrodia elata.

Mineral elements were determined by ICP and the data was analyzed by SPSS.

K element has the highest content-and the average content was 15.31 g x kg(-1). The average content of N element was 8.99 g x kg(-1), followed by K element. The coefficient of variation of K and N was small, but the Mn was the biggest with 51.39%. The highly significant positive correlation was found among N, P and K . Three principal components were selected by principal components analysis to evaluate the quality of G. elata. P, B, N, K, Cu, Mn, Fe and Mg were the characteristic elements of G. elata.

The content of K and N elements was higher and relatively stable. The variation of Mn content was biggest. The quality of G. elata in Guizhou and Yunnan was better from the perspective of mineral elements.