Abstract: The three official species and processed products of Chinese medicine Curcumae Rhizoma were commonly mixed used. In order to preliminary study and compare the chemical components of Curcumae Rhizoma commercially available,the essential oil,which was reported to be the main active components,was taken as the research object in this study. The essential oil composition from different processed products and sources of Curcumae Rhizoma was analyzed by GC-MS coupled with chemometrics. In addition,their cytotoxic activity on MCF-7 cell lines was also assessed. As a result,53 components,including 11 components for the first time,were identified from Curcumae Rhizoma volatile oil. In the comparative study of species,although their cytotoxic activity on MCF-7 cell lines were equally effective,significant differences were found intergroup by SPSS analysis;and the comparative study of processed products showed no significant difference. The essential oils from Curcuma kwangsiensis and C. phaeocaulis should be distinguished from C. wenyujin, the official source of essential oil of Curcumae Rhizoma.

Key words: essential oil, Curcumae Rhizome, GC-MS, chemometrics