Authentication of traditional Chinese medicine using infrared spectroscopy: distinguishing between ginseng and its morphological fakes

Abstract

The quality of pharmaceutical products such as ginseng is important for ensuring consumer safety and efficacy. Ginseng is an expensive herb, and adulteration with other cheaper products may occur. Quality assurance of ginseng is needed since many of its commercial products now come in various formulations such as capsules, powder, softgels and tea. Thus traditional means of authentication via smell, taste or physical appearance are hardly reliable. Herbs like ginseng tend to exhibit characteristic infrared fingerprints due to their different chemical constituents. Here we report for the first time a rapid means of distinguishing American and Asian ginsengs from two morphological fakes--sawdust and Platycodon grandiflorum, via pattern differences and principal component analysis of their infrared spectra. Our results show that ginseng can be distinguished from both sawdust and Platycodon grandiflorum, hence there is a potential of using infrared spectroscopy as a novel analytical technique in the authentication of ginseng.

Recent Methodology in Ginseng Analysis

“…Yap et al . [117] established an IR-based fingerprinting method to detect and authenticate ginseng in many products [117]. They also suggested a “2-6PC rules” rapid and effective method for authenticating ginseng and discriminating between different Panax species [118].…”

The relevance of pharmacognosy in pharmacological research on herbal medicinal products

“…A. DC. [37], or the different ginseng species, like Panax quinquefolius L. (American ginseng), P. ginseng C.A. Meyer (Asian ginseng), and P. notoginseng, which are deliberately or inadvertently mixed up with each other or with ginseng products derived from other species, plant parts, quality, or origin [38][39][40].…”

Isolation and analysis of ginseng: advances and challenges

“…Based on a unique IR spectral fingerprint in 2000-600 cm −1 , Yap et al described a “2-6PC rule” for categorizing ginseng products to authenticate them from morphological adulterations123 and to distinguish among P. ginseng, P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng 124. Near-infrared spectroscopy was used to determine the total sugar content in ginsengs 125.…”