Abstract: Spectral correlative chromatography was used to identify the peak of tetrahydropalmatine in Corydalis yanhusuo fingerprint. Moreover, multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares(MCR-ALS) was used to resolve the overlapping peaks of tetrahydropalmatine and restore its true peak shape. More than 99.9% spectrum could be recovered and accurately quantitative results were obtained. The method can be used as an auxillary fingerprinting method to provide a reliable basis for the authenticity and quality assessment of Chinese medicines. The effect of the herbs-cooking on the content of tetrahydropalmatine was also discussed.

Key words: corydalis yanhusuo, fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine, Spectral correlative chromatography, Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares