Objective: To determine the contents of four index components in Gentiana rigescens from different sources

and establish a comprehensive method to evaluate the quality of G. rigescens based on grey relational analysis (GRA). Method: The contents of loganic acid

swertiamarin

gentiopicroside and sweroside in roots and rhizomes of fifty G. rigescens samples from ten different regions of Yunnan Province were detected by high performance liquid chromatography. The relative correlation degree between reference sequence and each evaluation unit sequence was calculated to evaluate the samples synthetically based on the data of index components. Result: The fingerprints of G. rigescens samples were established

and the contents of the four main components were determined. The relative correlation degree (ri) of all G. rigescens samples was between 0.306 and 0.600

and the ri was above 0.500 for 14 samples

and below 0.400 for 23 samples

indicating that there were great differences in quality of samples. The ri was 0.600 and 0.576 respectively for DH3 and DH5 from Dali Heqing

which showed optimal quality. The average values of ri for the samples from different regions were between 0.325 and 0.541

and the average value was maximum for Heqing samples

indicating that the overall quality of Heqing samples was highest

which could be used as excellent resources for further research and extension. The RSD values of ri for samples from different regions were between 4.4% And 11.9%. The RSD value of ri for Kunming Xundian samples was minimum

indicating that Xundian samples had the most stable quality. Conclusion: The evaluation method with combination of GRA method and multi-ingredient quantification was simple and comprehensive to evaluate the quality of G. rigescens

and could provide references for the development and utilization of resources as well as optimal resources screening.