Variation in the ginsenoside content of American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius L., roots

Abstract

The weights and ginsenoside levels of twenty 4-year-old American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) roots harvested from a homogeneous-looking 1-m2 plot were determined. It was found that the dry weight of the roots ranged from 3.5 to 22.8 g, a factor of 6.5; whereas the ginsenoside levels of these roots ranged from 24.7 to 56.4 μmol/g, a factor of 2.3. Further, it was found that the larger plants also contained higher ginsenoside levels on a weight basis. This finding is based, in part, on the ginsenosides in P. quinquefolius being located in both the periderm and cortex and the xylem and pith portions of the root. As the environmental variation experienced by the plants analyzed in this study was minimized, a portion of the variation found in these traits is likely to be a result of genetic diversity within the crop. These findings indicate that a cultivar of P. quinquefolius could be developed that would yield plants that have both an average weight and ginsenoside level per gram of tissue substantially greater than that of the existing crop. Keywords: Panax quinquefolius, American ginseng, ginsenosides, genetic selection.

The Effect of Growth Regulators on Quality Parameters and Ginsenosides Accumulation in Panax quinquefolium L. Roots

“…Roots from the control object were highest in R b1 , R d and R e (80% of the total of determined compounds), compared to R c , R g1 and R b2 (0.32 mg g À1 ). We note that the amount of particular ginsenosides in control roots was similar to that reported by Wills and Stuart (2001), Court et al (1996a), Li and Mazza (1999) and Smith et al (1996) in 4-year-old roots of American ginseng. These authors, as well as Chung et al (1995) and Wang et al (1999) recorded clear domination of R b1 and R e or R d , as did we.…”

“…The same results were observed after GA 3 foliar spraying in the first year of ginseng vegetation (unpublished observations) as well as in the case of sweet basil Mahmoud (1996). Approximately 30 ginsenosides in American ginseng root have been identified so far (Corthout et al 1996;Court et al 1996;Smith et al 1996;Wills and Stuart 2001). Six of them (R b1 , R b2 , R c , R d , R g1 , R e ) appear in higher quantity and they are the most important compounds as far as roots evaluation is concerned.…”

“…Ginseng has been reported to contain saponins, antioxidants, peptides, polysaccharides, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. In recent years, saponin glycosides, commonly known as ginsenosides, and implicated in the prevention and alleviation of stress and other health-related problems, have been identified in ginseng (Li 1995;Smith et al 1996;Attele et al 1999). In addition, quantitative differences in individual ginsenosides between wild and cultivated plants and an impact of cultural factors have been reported (differences between ginseng species - Chung et al 1995;root age -Court et al 1996b;planting density -Reeleder et al 2000;harvest date -Reynolds 1998; differences between in vitro and field-grown ginseng - Wang et al 1999).…”

Leaves of North American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius L.: A renewable source of certain ginsenosides

“…This results in the large standard deviation values presented in Table 1. Smith et al (1996) noted a similar large variation in the ginsenoside content of individual P. quinquefolius roots collected from the same plot, which was attributed to genetic variation within the crop. When all the leaves from the ginseng plants were collected at the same time and analysed individually, total leaf ginsenoside levels were 147.33 ± 33.64 mg g -1 (five plants sampled) for the three-compound-leaf type plants and 124.33 ± 13.97 mg g -1 (four plants sampled) for four-compound-leaf type plants.…”

Ginsenoside production, growth and cytogenetic characteristics of sustained Panax japonicus var. Repens cell suspension culture

“…There are a number of arguments to support the assumption that a cytodifferentiation is required for elevation of GS biosynthesis: 1) It is known that in P. ginseng and P. quinquefolium plants ( Kubo et al 1980, Smith et al 1996 most of GSs are localised in the outer part of the roots consisting of parenchymal cells.…”