Abstract: The contents of 13 inorganic elements in different parts of Hedysari Radix were determined by ICP-MS.The distribution of the 13 inorganic elements in different samples was analyzed by one-way ANOVA,cluster analysis,correlation analysis and factor analysis.The results found that different parts of Hedysari Radix contained abundant inorganic elements,and the contents of As,Pb in different parts had no significant difference(P>0.05),but the contents of B,Hg,Be,Al,Ti,V,Ga,Ba,Ce,Sr,Mo had significant difference(P<0.05).There were maximum and minimum values for the content of 13 inorganic elements in different parts of Hedysari Radix and a significant positive or negative correlation existed between the contents of elements.Different parts of Hedysari Radix can be divided into two categories,by these 13 inorganic elements.Among them,roots,leaves and fruits clustered into the first group(I),stems and flowers clustered into the second group(II).Ba,Mo and Al were the characteristic elements of different samples.The results showed that different parts of Hedysari Radix had a certain selectivity in absorption of different elements,and the contents of inorganic elements in different parts existed correlations.

Key words: Hedysari Radix, Radix, Caulis, Folium, Flos, Fructus, inorganic elements, distribution