Application of the chromatographic fingerprint for quality control of essential oil from GuangXi Curcuma kwangsiensis

To evaluate the validation tests of precision and repeatability in quality control of essential oil from Curcuma kwangsiensis, ten different batches of Curcuma kwangsiensis samples from three producing areas in Guangxi province were studied by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The characteristic differences in the producing areas and the chemical variances in the toasting process were obtained and studied by principal components analysis (PCA) and similarity analysis. The results suggest that the chromatographic fingerprint developed by hydrodistillation coupled with GC-MS provides useful information to reveal the quality of Curcuma kwangsiensis and evaluate the quality changes in the producing process.