Differences in Volatile Organic Compounds in Rhizoma gastrodiae (Tian Ma) of Different Origins Determined by HS-GC-IMS

Headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to compare the differences in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of Rhizoma gastrodiae (Tian Ma) from six different origins in Yunnan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Hubei, and Guizhou. A total of 161 signal peaks were identified, and 84 compounds were characterized, including 23 aldehydes, 19 alcohols, 12 ketones, 8 heterocyclic compounds, 7 esters, 4 phenols, 4 acids, 4 ethers, 2 amines, and 1 alkane. The results of cluster analysis and fingerprint similarity analysis based on principal component analysis and Euclidean distance indicated that there were significant differences between the volatile components of Rhizoma gastrodiae from different origins. This study demonstrated that HS-GC-IMS is simple, rapid, accurate, and has a small sample size and can achieve rapid analysis of the differences in volatile compounds between samples of different origins of Rhizoma gastrodiae.