Objective:To establish chromatographic fingerprint of volatile oil and investigate the variance of Rhizoma Zingiberis collected from different places. Method: First

gather Rhizoma Zingiberis from different places

then smashed and dried out. Second

mark off the different samples and extract the volatile constituents. Third

assay the final samples by GC and correct their fingerprints and make evaluations at last. The chromatography analysis was carried out on an HP-5 capillary column (320 μm×30 m

0.25 μm)

the temperature program was as follows: 60℃ for six minutes

rose to 146℃ at 5℃·min-1

then rose to 165℃ at 2℃·min-1 for five minutes

and then rose to 250℃ at 8℃·min-1

by using helium as the carries gas

the flow rate of 1 mL·min-1

the split ratio 30: 1

sample inlet temperature of 250℃. Result: A total of twenty common peaks identified from the GC fingerprints of volatile oil in Rhizoma Zingiberis.More than eleven samples of representative Rhizoma Zingiberis were chosen for preliminary fingerprint assay. The similarity

repetitiveness

steadiness and precision of these different Rhizoma Zingiberis were obtained. Conclusion: The quality of most of these Rhizoma Zingiberis is stable and controllable

which meet the requirements of the 2005-edition Pharmacopoeia. However

a minority of these Rhizoma Zingiberis has some differences in quality

and requires further investigation.