Chromatographic Fingerprint Analysis and Multicomponent Quantitative Analysis for Quality Evaluation of Astragalus Radix

As a widely used and distributed dietary herbs, the quality of Astragalus Radix (AR) is influenced by various factors, making the establishment of appropriate quality standards a challenging task. In this context, a simple and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography method was employed to analyze the chromatographic fingerprint of AR and conduct quantitative analysis of two key components: calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and astragaloside IV. The chemical fingerprints of 16 batches of samples were successfully established, identifying 15 commons peaks. Multiple chemometric methods, including similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were used to comprehensively assess the AR samples and identify key components. Subsequently, the ultrasonic-assisted extraction of calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and astragaloside IV was optimized through response surface analysis. In quantitative analysis, all calibration curves exhibited good linearity within the test range (r > 0.9990), the average recovery rates ranged from 93.82% to 105.14%, and the RSDs for repeatability and stability were below 2.1%. The results demonstrate that this method is simple, accurate and effective, providing a valuable reference for the overall quality evaluation of Astragalus Radix.