Abstract:Roots, root cortices and root corks from 6 species of Boraginaceae are used as Zicao in com mercial crude drugs. This paper reports the determination of naphthaquinone pigments (such as total pigments, β, β-dimethylacryshikonin, acetylshikonin and shikonin) in 12 samples of 6 plants. The quality of various drugs was evaluated by determining the contents of the above principles.