Chemical analysis of the Hedysarum multijugum root by HPLC fingerprinting

The root of Hedysarum multijugum (RHM) is recorded as a folk herbal medicine in China and is sometimes used as a substitute for Hedysari Radix, which is a famous traditional Chinese medicine derived from the roots of Hedysarum polybotrys. In the present study, a sensible, reliable, and reproducible HPLCDAD fingerprint analysis method for RHM was developed and then subsequently applied to analyze RHM samples from different origins. The chemical constituents of the RHM samples were generally consistent, although it was slightly affected by the local environment of the plant. In addition, the chemical constituency of RHM was shown to be significantly different from that of Hedysari Radix, suggesting that RHM is not suitable as a substitute for Hedysari Radix, at least from the chemical point of view.