OBJECTIVETo establish a GC-MS fingerprint profile of the volatile oil in mulberry leaves (dried leaves of Morus abla) in order to provide the referent basis of quality evaluation.

METHODThe volatile oil was extracted from mulberry leaves by water stream distillation method, 10 bathes of samples collected from different regions were analyzed by GC-MS, and their GC-MS fingerprint were subsequently established. Hierarchical clustering analysis was performed by SPSS software.

RESULTSeventeen common characteristic peaks were summarized from the fingerprint of the 10 baths of mulberry Leaves sample, which were clasified two categories by the result of hierarchical clustering analysis, namely samples collected in Akesu area, Tulufan area, Hami area, Hetian Loupu county, Jiangsu province, Sichuang province, Shanxi province and Guangzhou were in a group, whereas those from Yili area and Wulumqi were in another group.

CONCLUSIONThe established GC-MS fingerprint could be used for the identification and quality evaluation of mulberry leaves, the method was accurate and reliable, the fingerprint was intuitive and specific.