Inorganic Elements in Kernel of Amygdalus communis L. Measured Using ICP-OES Method

[Objective] The aim was to study on distribution of inorganic elements in kernel of Amygdalus communis L., providing reference for quality evaluation of A. communis L. species. [Method] Totally 26 species of inorganic elements in kernel, including Al, B, Be, Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, Zn, Cd, As, Se, V, Hg, Cr and K were measured with inductively coupled plasma emission spectrum （ICP-OES） and principal components analysis （PCA）. [Result] A. communis L. of different species and in different factories showed a similar curve in content of inorganic elements; absolute contents of the elements differed significantly. In addition, the accumulated variance contribution of five principle factors achieved as high as 84.371% and the variance contribution made by the first three factors accounted for 67.546%, proving that Fe, Ti, Pb, Na, Se, Cu, Mo, K, Zn, Ni, Ca and Sr were characteristic elements. [Conclusion] The method, which is brief, rapid and accurate, can be used for determination of inorganic elements in kernel of A. communis L., providing theoretical references for further development and utilization of A. communis L.

Inorganic Elements in Tuber of Chinese Herbal Medicine Radix Pseudostellariae from Guizhou Province

By analyzing the contents of inorganic elements in Radix Pseudostellariae from Guizhou Province, the aim was to assess the present quality of Radix Pseu- dostellariae, set limited standards of heavy metals, establish element fingerprints, and find out the characteristic elements. ICP-MS was used to measure the content of inorganic elements and map the element fingerprints. Additionally, WM/T2-2004 was applied to evaluate the quality of heavy metal elements, and the characteristic elements were determined by principal component analysis. The results showed that the contents of inorganic elements in Radix Pseudostellariae were between 0.057 and 959 mg/kg with the coefficients of variation ranging from 0.134 to 1.478, and the contents of Cd, As, Pb, and Hg were below the Standard of WM/T2-2004 in 90% of Radix Pseudostellariae. The standard limits of heavy metals in Radix Pseu- dostellariae were Cr≤6.5 mg/kg, Cu≤10 mg/kg, As≤2.0 mg /kg, Cd≤0.3 mg/kg, Hg≤0.15 mg/kg, and Pb≤4.0 mg/kg. The features of the inorganic eJements finger- prints could provide theoretical basis of identifying the quality of Radix Pseudostel- lariae and distinguishing Radix Pseudostellariae from other Chinese herbal medicines. The characteristic inorganic elements of Radix Pseudostellariae were found to be Cd, Cu, Co, Zn, Fe, Ca, Mg, and AI. Radix Pseudostellariae from Guizhou Province contained abundant inorganic elements, and the contents of heavy metals were below the evaluation criterion. The study provided a reference for the future development of the limiting values of heaw metals in Radix Pseudostellariae.