Spectroscopy Analysis of Prickly Ash Samples From Different Regions: A Food Fingerprint Study

Background: Fingerprinting Chinese red prickly ash ( Zanthoxylum bungeanum or Dahongpao) samples helped establish baseline qualities and components. These data will provide valuable insights into determining the extent to which cultivation practices and locations may affect a plant’s output, providing insight into maximizing its agricultural potential and ensuring consistent quality. Methods: In this paper, we evaluated prickly ash samples from eight regions, all in the Shandong, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technologies. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) was used to analyze the volatile components from prickly ash extract and powder samples, and they were compared with the NIST database. Results: Data from sample analysis yielded 91 volatile flavour components. Lastly, 14 compounds were identified as fingerprints with harvest site bias based on the GC‐MS data, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA) models. Conclusion: Data from this comprehensive analysis contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding the quality of prickly ash samples. Our findings underscore the critical role that cultivation practices play in the quality of plants—which could influence both traditional medical and modern culinary art usages.