Objective: The major activity ingredients of Berberis plants are alkaloids. To compare the total alkaloids and individual alkaloid (berberine) contents in roots and stems from five origins of Berberis plants (Berberis soulieana Schneid.

B. henryana Schneid.

B. triacanthophora Fedde

B. gagnepainii Schneid. and B. bergmanniae Schneid.)

whose roots are widely used as a traditional Chinese medicine called "Sankezhen"

and provide some references for resource and quality evaluation of the medicine. Method: Acid dye colorimetry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to measure contents of the total alkaloids and berberine

respectively. Result: Contents for the total alkaloids in root and stem samples were in the range of 1.60% to 4.72% and 0.76% to 2.70%

while those of the berberine were 0.70% to 2.92% and 0.23% to 1.07%. With higher contents of the total alkaloids and berberine

the roots of B. soulieana Schneid.

B. gagnepainii Schneid. and B. bergmanniae Schneid. are good sources of Sankezhen

meanwhile the contents were also high in stems of the three plants. Conclusion: The methods established for determination of total alkaloids and berberine were simple

rapid and reliable. Furthermore

the present study provided valuable research methods for the quality evaluation of the plants.