Objective: To establish a method to determine the contents of nitrite and nitrate in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma of different origins and different boiling times

in order to explore the factors of nitrate accumulation in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. Method: Under ultrasonic conditions

nitrite and nitrate in samples were extracted with deionized water. The extracting solution was purified through C18 column and directly injected after centrifugal filtration. Anion exchange column was used to separate. Conductivity detector was used to detect

and the external standard method was used to quantify. Result: The linear relationship of nitrite and nitrate were good respectively

the recoveries rate was between 93.1% and 105.9%

and the precision and repeatability of the method were good. The content of nitrate in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma of different origin

different varieties and different cultivation measures was high and significantly different. The order of the content of nitrate in different organs of same variety was stem>root>leaf. Conclusion: Ion chromatography can simultaneously detect nitrite ions and nitrate ions in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma

with a high sensitivity and accuracy. It provides a simple and rapid method for the quality control of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. At the same time

it is concluded that Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma is a crop that is easy to enrich nitrate compared with the nitrate content in other ten kinds of commonly used Chinese herbal medicines

and the accumulation of nitrate is closely related to such internal factors as species

varieties and location and such external factors as fertilization and cultivation measures.