Objective: To explore the utility of chromatographic data for quality control of Paeonia suffruticosa, a Chinese herbal medicine.
Method: Chromatographic fingerprints of Paeonia suffruticosa were determined by HPLC, the clustering analysis was used for data processing.
Result: The quantitative differences among different growing areas were found and could be used to classify herbals from different growing areas, while there seemed to be no quantitative differences for processing factor.
Conclusion: The method could be used in quality control for monitoring herbal quality control, and the result also suggested that different growing areas may greatly affected the herbal qualities.