OBJECTIVETo investigate the quality and quantity changes of Flos Lonicerace during flowering stages in Hanzhong GAP base in order for properly harvesting and quality control.

METHODThe yield index of Flos lonicerace in four flowering stages was determined, and the contents of chlorogenic acid and the total flavonoid in the samples were determined by HPLC and the colorimetry, respectively. The volatile oils were extracted by the SFE-CO2 and the constituents were analyzed by GC-MS.

RESULTThe yield in the first two flowering times was attributed to about more than 80% of total yield, and the number of flower buds for each plant in the first time was almost the same as the sum of the other three times. The drying rate of the three-site green flowers kept the highest during the first flowering time, and the drying rate of the two-site white flowers kept the highest during the second flowering time. The contents of chlorogenic acid and the total flavonoid in the first flowering time were higher than those in the second, and among them, the two-site white flowers kept the highest, about 3.5% and 13.2%, respectively. For the sample flowers in in the second flowering time, the three-site green flowers kept the highest level of chlorogenic acid and the total flavonoid, about 2.7% and 11.6%, respectively. From the volatile oil samples in the five periods of Flos lonicerace in the first flowering time, 19 components were identified by GC-MS. They were composed by three types of compounds, n-diolefines, fatty acids and steroids. Nonacosane and hentriacontane had the relatively higher amount with more than 40% and 20%, respectively. The relative contents of vitamine E were higher too, about 8.15% - 10.43%. And, gamma-5-sitostene-3-ol, stigmasta-5,2-diene-3-ol and campesterol were also detected. Among these steroids, the relative contents of the first two were 4.90% - 6.9%, 1.06%- 4.10%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe flowering samples in the first two times were attributed to the most to the total yield. The samples of the two-site white flower and the whole-white flower had the higher comprehensive quality. The components of vitamine E and the steroids in the volatile oil need to be paid more attention.