Determination of ginsenosides in Asian and American ginsengs by liquid chromatography–quadrupole/time-of-flight MS: assessing variations based on morphological characteristics

Abstract

BackgroundAsian ginseng and American ginseng are functional foods that share a close genetic relationship and are well-known worldwide. This article aims to investigate the correlation between morphological characteristics and the inherent quality of Asian and American ginsengs.MethodsIn this study, an ultra-HPLC–quadrupole/time-of-flight MS (UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS) method was established for the quantitative analysis of 45 ginseng samples. The method developed for determination was precise and accurate.ResultsThe results showed that Asian ginseng samples with the same growing time (with the same or similar number of stem scars) that had a thinner main root, a longer rhizome and more branch roots contained greater amounts of ginsenosides. For American ginseng, two tendencies were observed in the relationship between the diameter of the main root and contents of ginsenosides. One tendency was that samples with thinner main roots tended to contain higher levels of ginsenosides, which was observed in the samples sold under the commercial name pao-shen. Another tendency was that samples with thicker main roots contained higher contents of ginsenosides, which was observed in the samples sold under the commercial name pao-mian, as well as in samples of American ginseng cultivated in Jilin, China.ConclusionAn approach using ultra-HPLC–quadrupole/time-of-flight MS was successfully established to link morphology and active components for evaluating the quality of Asian and American ginsengs. Clear correlation between visible morphological features and quality of Asian and American ginsengs was found. People can see the difference; this means consumers and vendors can evaluate ginseng by themselves.

Quality evaluation of Panax quinquefolium from different cultivation regions based on their ginsenoside content and radioprotective effects on irradiated mice

“…The measurements (Table 1) showed that Rb1 and Re were the most abundant ginsenosides among nine assayed analytes in AG samples of all seven cultivation regions, which was consistent with the investigations 24,31,32,43,44 . Although some cultivated AGs contained higher Rg1 than Re, which was cultivation region or population-dependent 21,42,44 , Rg1 content in our analyzed samples was about 5–10 times lower than Re and close to Rb2, Rc and Rd. The total content of Rb1, Re and Rg1 ranged from 24.14 ± 0.63 mg/g (SX) to 46.73 ± 7.35 mg/g (Canada), which indicated that AGs that we collected from seven cultivation regions all met the least percentage quality requirement of AGs as qualified medicine (2%) 45 .…”

Simultaneous Determination and Analysis of Major Ginsenosides in Wild American Ginseng Grown in Tennessee

“…Wild American ginseng roots are mainly exported overseas, especially to Asia, at a price of HK$66,138/kg, whereas cultivated ginseng were only HK$952/kg in 2013. [35] Wild American ginseng can be easily distinguished from cultivated ginseng by the visible traits such as root form, size, and color. However, limited sampling size of wild population present significant obstacles to obtaining sufficient scientific data to assess the chemical variability between wild and cultivated ginseng, which may be responsible for difference in their pharmacological activities.…”

A Combined Quality Evaluation Method That Integrated Chemical Constituents, Appearance Traits and Origins of Raw Rehmanniae Radix Pieces

“…The contents of chemical components in Chinese herbal medicines are diverse with different appearance traits. For instance, one study revealed that Asian and American ginsengs with thicker main roots contained higher contents of ginsenosides [43]; for another example, Liu, W et al reported that the color of Salvia miltiorrhiza had signi cant positive correlation with Tanshinone and the total content of lipsoluble components [44]. The above research has indicated that the appearance traits of traditional Chinese medicine are relevant to chemical composition.…”