Chemical differentiation and quality evaluation of commercial Asian and American ginsengs based on a UHPLC-QTOF/MS/MS metabolomics approach

Introduction: Asian and American ginsengs are widely used medicinal materials and are being used more and more in health products. The two materials look alike but function differently. Various forms of both types of ginseng are found in the market, causing confusion for consumers in their choice.

Objective: To evaluate the overall quality of commercial Asian and American ginsengs and investigate the characteristic chemical markers for differentiating between them.

Methods: This article investigated 17 Asian and 21 American ginseng samples using an ultra-HPLC combined with quadrupole time-of-flight MS/MS technique. The data were processed by principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis.

Results: In the chromatograms, a total of 40 peaks were detected. Among them, six were positively identified, and all of the remainder were tentatively identified. According to statistical results, ginsenosides Rf, Rb2 and Rc together with their isomers and derivatives were more likely to be present in Asian ginsengs, whereas ginsenoside Rb1 , pseudoginsenoside F11 and ginsenoside Rd together with their isomers and derivatives tended to be present in American ginsengs. For Asian ginsengs, ginsenoside Ra3 and 20-β-D-glucopyranosyl-ginsenoside-Rf were more likely to be present in forest samples, whereas contents of floralquinquenoside B, ginsenosides Ro and Rc, and zingibroside R1 were higher in sun-dried ginsengs. For American ginseng, wild samples often had more of the notoginsenosides R1 and Rw2 and less of the ginsenosides Rd, Rd isomer and 20 (S)-Rg3 than cultivated samples.

Conclusion: The method provided important fingerprint information for authentication and evaluation of Asian and American ginsengs from various commercial products.