Correlation between change in taste and Danba content during processing of Radix Aconiti lateralis praeparata

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between changes in taste and danba content during processing of Radix Aconiti lateralis praeparata (RALP). Methods: Danba content was determined by Na2EDTA titration method, while electronic tongue technique was used to determine variations in taste during processing of RALP. Principal components analysis (PCA) and discriminant factorial analysis (DFA) were used for analysis of data on taste variation. The correlation between danba levels and changes in taste was determined using Pearson correlation test. Results: The results showed that danba content increased sharply after fresh RALP was soaked in danba solution, and then decreased with each step in the processing of RALP. Electronic tongue successfully distinguished among the different processed RALP samples and identified unknown samples through PCA and DFA. Pearson correlation analysis showed that danba content was negatively correlated with taste. Conclusion: Taste variation is closely correlated with danba content during the processing of RALP. Moreover, electronic tongue is a suitable supplementary tool for the quality control of RALP.