Abstract:Objective To determine the content of selenium (Se) and heavy metal elements Pb, Cd, As, Hg, and Cu in the medicinal material Polygonum cuspidatum and its rhizosphere soil in Shitai County, Anhui Province, China, and to perform a correlation analysis. Methods Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the content of Se and heavy metal elements Pb, Cd, As, Hg, and Cu, and a correlation analysis was performed. Results The average content of Se, As, Cu, Cd, Pb, and Hg in the medicinal material Polygonum cuspidatum in seven towns of Shitai County was 0.59, 0.32, 7.42, 0.12, 1.38, and 0.005 mg/kg, respectively, and the average content of Se, As, Cu, Cd, Pb, and Hg in rhizosphere soil was 2.34, 65.77, 44.65, 0.95, 111.61, and 0.22 mg/kg, respectively. Conclusion The medicinal material Polygonum cuspidatum and its rhizosphere soil all reach the selenium-rich level, and the content of Se in Polygonum cuspidatum is positively correlated with that in rhizosphere soil. The content of heavy metal elements As, Cu, Cd, Pb, and Hg in Polygonum cuspidatum is not correlated with that in rhizosphere soil. The content of heavy metal elements in Polygonum cuspidatum from 7 towns of Shitai County is below the national tolerance limit, suggesting that Polygonum cuspidatum has high safety.