A simple and reliable HPLC fingerprint method was developed and validated for the quality control and
identification of Ziyang green tea. Ten batches of Ziyang green tea collected from different plantations in
Shaanxi Ziyang of China were used to establish the fingerprint. The feasibility and advantages of the used
HPLC fingerprint were verified for its similarity evaluation by systematically comparing chromatograms
with professional analytical software recommended by State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) of
China. The similarities of the fingerprints of 10 batches of tea samples were all more than 0.981. Additionally,
simultaneous quantification of 10 major bioactive ingredients in the tea samples was conducted to
interpret the consistency of the quality test. The results indicated that the HPLC fingerprint as a
characteristic distinguishing method combining similarity evaluation and quantification analysis can
be successfully used to assess the quality and to identify the authenticity of Ziyang green tea