A Comparative Study Of Ginsenosides In Ginseng Samples From Different Origins And Ages

The quality assessment of ginseng has been the focus of attention. It is reported that ginseng has regional characteristics. On the other hand, as a perennial herb, growth age is one of important factors which influences ginseng quality. The effects of habitats and cultivation ages on ginseng quality were barely reported. In this study, hundreds of ginseng samples with various cultivation ages were harvested from Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning provinces, respectively, and their qualities were estimated by morphological chemical analyses.The detail of the study was as follows:1. Document retrievalThe related literature was consulted and summarized, including the ginseng origins, chemical composition, quality control, researches on pharmacological activity, and the influences of origins and ages on the quality of ginseng, etc.2. Sample collectionThe samples were collected from six areas in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces. Among them, about 190 ginseng samples were collected from Liaoning province with the ages between 1-15 years, about 120 ginseng samples were collected from Jilin and Heilongjiang province with the ages between 1-7 years.3. The relationship between age of the sample and its morphological characterThe morphological characters of ginseng samples collected from Shizhu in Liaoning province with 1-15 years were studied. and a good correlation coefficient between the cultivation age and the length of sample rhizome was found.4. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of ginsenosides in samples from different origins and ages by UPLC method.An UPLC method to analyze eight kinds of ginsenosides in samples was established. Simultaneously the characteristic fingerprints of samples were established, and 10 common peaks were observed. The results showed that the main ingredients in samples from different habitats have obvious difference. The contents of ginsenosides Rg1, Rb1 in samples increased with ages.5. Comparative analysis of ginsenosides in samples from different origins and ages by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS28 ginsenosides in sample were identified using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. The MS data of samples from different habitats and ages was analyzed by Matlab, Spss and Masslynx software. The samples could be divided into three parts, i.e.,samples with 1-4 years, samples with 5-9 years, samples with 10-15 years.96.4% of samples can be discriminated correctly.6. Determination of ginsenosides amount and the discrimination of their geographical origin by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR)The near-infrared spectra of samples from different origins and ages were collected, and different pretreatments were applied on the spectra to optimize the calibration model and identification model for origins. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) model was used to determined the content of ginsenosides, the root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were 0.115 and 0.167. respectively, and the correlation coefficients were 0.9477 and 0.9153, respectively, Pattern recognition method could effectively separate 74 samples into three clusters. corresponding to the three geographical origins, i.e., Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang Province. The established quantification method herein is rapid and accurate, it can be applied as an alternative method for quality control of ginseng sample.