Abstract:The discriminant analysis techniques to distinguish different varieties of honeysuckle leaves were developed based on their differences in chemical composition. Using the leaves of Lonicera macranthoides Hand.-Mazz., L. hypoglauca Miq., Bei Hua 1 L. japonica Thunb. and Si Ji L. japonica Thunb. as experimental materials, high performance liquid chromatography was used to construct chemical fingerprints of honeysuckle leaves. After 34 characteristic chromatographic peaks were extracted, the differences in chemical compositions of the four different varieties of honeysuckle leaves were analyzed and compared in combination with multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis and system cluster analysis. The results revealed that the first two principal components accumulatively represented 51.3% of the original variables, and the principal component score maps of the four different varieties of honeysuckle samples showed relatively independent spatial distribution characteristics. Cluster analysis revealed that the 32 samples were grouped into 4 clusters according to the variety, source and similarity of fingerprints. Compared with Si Ji, Bei Hua 1 resembled the most in chemical characteristics, follow by L. hypoglauca Miq. and L. macranthoides Hand.-Mazz. The ten chromatographic peaks, No. 5, 6, 7 (chlorogenic acid), 8, 11, 14, 16, 18, 24 and 29, in the fingerprint spectra were proved to be the main contributors to the chemical differences among the different varieties of honeysuckle leaves, which can be further developed into stable chemical markers. The HPLC fingerprint and analysis method established in this research can be used for the identification and analysis of different varieties of honeysuckle leaves including Lonicera macranthoides Hand.-Mazz., L. hypoglauca Miq., Bei Hua 1 L. japonica Thunb. and Si Ji L. japonica Thunb.
