A novel and practical strategy for comprehensive differentiation and profiling of eight Curcumae varieties and their counterfeit from the Chinese market.

The Curcuma genus is extensively used in food, traditional medicine, and spice, however, nine closely related varieties are frequently misidentified, leading to mislabeling and adulteration. This study presents an innovative and practical strategy for precise differentiation of nine Curcumae varieties-eight authentic and one counterfeit. For the first time, comprehensive characterizations were conducted using LC-Orbitrap MS, and 702 non-volatiles were annotated, laying a groundwork for marker selection and identification. Following extensive optimization, advanced methods, including HPTLC, HPLC fingerprint, and multi-component quantification, were developed. These techniques, innovatively applied to this group, and achieved excellent separation for all nine varieties. This culminated in the generation of a practical authentication criteria validated across 138 source-confirmed samples. Application of these criteria to 98 commercial products revealed 10 counterfeits, underscoring efficacy of this approach. This strategy offers a robust approach to prevent mislabeling and enhance quality control in food and traditional medicine industries.