Abstract: Through the analysis of saponins contents in Sapindus mukorossi peels from different habitats, the results showed that the differences of saponins contents among 14 different habitats were significant, and the average content was 8.85%. There was a significant positive correlation between peel saponins content and longitude of those habitats. The peel saponins contents were significantly different between eastern and western habitats, the western habitats had higher saponins contents. Furthermore, the cluster analysis indicated the peel saponins contents obviously differentiated between eastern and western habitats. The differentiation was especially noticeable in southwest habitats, including Yifeng in Jiangxi province, Rongjiang in Guizhou province and Longzhou in Guangxi province, which showed higher contents of peel saponins. Hence, those habitats were good for selecting high peel saponins contents of S.mukorossi.

Key words: Sapindus mukorossi, HPLC, saponins content, habitat, variatio