Comprehensive Evaluation on Yield and Quality of Medicinal Chrysanthemum morifolium Varieties Based on Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis

In order to prevent the mixing of varieties and screen special medicinal or tea Chrysanthemum morifolium varieties, 16 samples of 8 medicinal C. morifolium varieties from different producing areas were used in this study. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and colorimetry were used to determine the quality components from different producing areas, we also determined their yield and quality based on principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). The results showed that the variation coefficient of the amount of single capitulum per plant was the largest (39.03%) among the yield indexes, which was the main factor that constituted the dry weight of single capitulum per plant (r=0.800). Furthermore, the ‘Hongxin Ju’ from Zaozhuang had the highest value in both the amount of single capitulum (496.50) and dry weight of single capitulum per plant. The contents of medical components, including chlorogenic acid, 3,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid and total flavonoids showed significant differences (P<0.05) among different samples from various areas, and the three compounds in ‘Chuju’ from Chuzhou had relative higher levels (3.75%, 8.07% and 16.08%, respectively), which was consistent with the comprehensive evaluation results of its quality components, and indicating that ‘Chuju’ from Chuzhou was suitable for medicinal use. Four principal components were extracted from the PCA of 13 traits indexes, including pharmacodynamic factor, high yield factor, total flavonoid factor and flower diameter factor, and their cumulative contribution rate reached 84.34%. The comprehensive scores of ‘Hongxin Ju’, ‘Zaoxiaoyang Ju’ and ‘Chuju’ after introduced to Zaozhuang ranked the top three among 16 samples of 8 varieties from various areas. Combined with the results of CA, it indicated that in the original area, 'Chuju' from Chuzhou was more suitable for medical use, in the introducing area of Zaozhuang, ‘Hongxin Ju’ was a high-yielding variety, and ‘Zaoxiaoyang Ju’ was a variety with good comprehensive quality. In summary, a comprehensive evaluation system for the yield and quality of medicinal C. morifolium varieties was established to provide a theoretical basis for the introduction and screening of new varieties of medicinal and tea C. morifolium and the homologous utilization of medicine and food in China.