Abstract:In order to explore the compositional characteristics of Helianthus tuberosus from different origins and establish a scientific quality evaluation method, this study took Helianthus tuberosus from 41 origins as research objects and determined the content of 14 basic quality indicators. Compositional differences among Helianthus tuberosus from different origins and the effects of meteorological factors on their components were explored using similarity evaluation of the fingerprint of major sugar components, correlation analysis, and cluster analysis. A comprehensive quality evaluation model for Helianthus tuberosus was established using a combination of correlation analysis, principal component analysis, entropy weight method, and grey relational analysis. The results showed that there were significant differences in the physicochemical component contents of Helianthus tuberosus from different origins (P<0.05), with the highest variation coefficient of 63.78% for total flavonoids. 11 common peaks were identified in the fingerprint of major sugar components, with the overall similarity ranging from 0.890 to 0.999, and the main differences were in the content. The contents of various sugar components in Helianthus tuberosus were closely related to meteorological factors such as rainfall, temperature, and sunshine duration. Cluster analysis divided the Helianthus tuberosus from 41 origins into 4 categories. 4 core quality indices were identified by correlation analysis and principal component analysis, namely sucrose pentasaccharide, water content, fructose and ash. Grey relational analysis ranked Baishan in Jilin, Dingxi in Gansu, and Jinzhou in Liaoning as having superior comprehensive quality. This study provides a theoretical basis for the quality evaluation and comprehensive utilization of Helianthus tuberosus.