Abstract

An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was to determine microelements such as Be, B, Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, Ba, Hg, Pb, Li, Mg, Ca, Ga, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Sn and Cs with In as internal standard. The limits of detection (LOD) for elements mentioned earlier are between 0.003 and 2.478 ng/g, and the recoveries are between 92 and 112.20%. These results are in agreement with the reference values of standard reference materials in the poplar leaves. The Overall method is accurate, reliable and applicable in the determination of microelements in Codonopsis Radix, and the consideration of quantitatively analyzing elements in other Chinese traditional herbs.

Key words: Codonopsis pilosula, Codonopsis pilosula Nannf. var. modesta (Nannf.) L.T.Shen, microelements, ICP-MS, quantitative analysis.