Evaluation of trace and toxic element concentrations in Paris polyphylla from China with empirical and chemometric approaches

Trace and toxic elements in Paris polyphylla samples were determined by flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry following microwave-assisted acid digestion, based on a mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The whole procedure, including sample preparation, digestion and measurements, was successfully validated against CRM GBW07603 (bush twigs and leaves). In order to get a better insight into the elemental patterns, common chemometric approaches to data evaluation, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), were used as classification techniques. Five significant groups classified by PCA were attributed partly to significant influential sources. HCA revealed five groups of P. polyphylla samples based on their trace and toxic element concentrations.