Investigation of chemical changes in Polygonatum kingianum after traditional processing by multiple fingerprint profiles in combination with multivariate methods

Polygonati Rhizoma (Huangjing) is traditional medicine in China, which can only be used as medicine after being processed. However, there is a limited theoretical basis for analyzing the changes in chemical components after traditional processing. In this study, analytical techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance gel permeation chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection, and HPLC-diode array detection were proposed to perform multiple fingerprint analyses of the changes in the processed materials; the total sugar was also determined. Moreover, the chemometric studies, including hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis, were used to visualize the discrimination of raw and processed materials. The results revealed that the chemical constituents had been profoundly changed following sample processing. In conclusion, these methods could be successfully used to compare raw and processed materials of Polygonatum kingianum, which could be used to elaborate the rationality of processing from the perspective of chemical composition.