Abstract: A rapid and nondestructive analytical method for simultaneous analysis of osthol and imperatorin in the extractant of Fructus Cnidii obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide fluid extraction (SFE-CO₂) was developedby artificial neural network based on nearinfrared spectroscopy. The artificial neural network (ANN) models of original spectrum and two pretreated spectra (firstderivative and standard normal variate, respectively) of osthol and imperatorin were established. In the models the concentrations of osthol and imperatorin were determined simultaneouslyand compared. The best model of determining the concentrations of osthol and imperatorin was obtained via their firstderivative spectra.

Key words: artificial neural network, near infrared diffuse ref lectance spectrum, Fructus Cnidii, supercritical carbon dioxide extraction