Identification of geographical origins of raw American ginseng and tablets based on stable isotope ratios

C/N/O/S stable isotopic and chemometric analyses for determining the geographical origin of Panax ginseng cultivated in Korea

“…According to previous studies [3] , [11] , [26] , the δ 13 C values of P. ginseng and Panax quinquefolius roots obtained from Canada, China, Korea, and the United States varied between −31.2‰ and −22.2‰, which is similar to the δ 13 C variation (−28.4‰ to −22.0‰) observed for the 3-yr-old P. ginseng roots reported herein. These δ 13 C distributions also correspond with the known δ 13 C range (−30‰ to −22‰) of C3 plants [24] .…”

“…These δ 13 C distributions also correspond with the known δ 13 C range (−30‰ to −22‰) of C3 plants [24] . Interestingly, the δ 13 C value alone was unable to clearly discriminate between the different geographical origins of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius [3] , [11] , whereas in our study, the δ 13 C values of the various P. ginseng root samples did allow the successful discrimination of the geographical origins of ginseng from five different regions in Korea ( p < 0.050, Table 1 ). We expect that this may be attributable to the certain differences in cultivation environments associated with ginseng growth in each cultivation region.…”

“…According to previous studies [3] , [11] , [26] , the geographical origin of ginseng root can significantly affect the δ 15 N values, with variations between −2.46‰ and 11.81‰ being recorded. Indeed, these results were similar to our finding, where a δ 15 N range of 0.7–9.0‰ was observed.…”

“…In addition, the stable isotope ratios of common bioelements such as H, C, N, O, or S have also been used to discriminate between different geographical origins of foods, as these ratios are influenced by parameters such as climate, water availability, coastline proximity, altitude, latitude, soil properties, agricultural practice, and anthropogenic activity close to cultivation regions. For example, the H isotope ratio in ginseng root is a potential marker to discriminate between Korean and Chinese ginseng [3] , and H, N, and O isotope ratios have also been used to discriminate the geographical origin of raw American ginseng root and its tablet form [11] . Moreover, analysis of the stable isotope ratios of H, C, N, O, or S has been successfully applied to the geographical origin discrimination of various foodstuffs such as cereals [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , potatoes [16] , [17] , honey [18] , and milk [19] .…”

Authentication of Processed Epimedii folium by EA-IRMS

“…Compared with other IRMS interfaces such as gas chromatography/combustion coupled with IRMS (GC/C/IRMS), EA-IRMS is fast and simple, without complicated sample pretreatment. EA-IRMS has been applied in the authenticity evaluation and geographical traceability of herbal drugs and foods especially in the characterization of plant oils and animal fats [16][17][18][19]. It has been reported that edible vegetable oil and animal fat possessed different δ 13 C values [18,19].…”