Comparison of Index Compounds Content and Antioxidative Activity of Wild Ginseng Pharmacopuncture by Extraction Methods

Abstract

Objectives Wild ginseng pharmacopuncture is widely used in oriental medicine. However, there is no standard method for efficiently extracting the active ingredient. In this study, in order to determine an efficient extraction method, wild ginseng was extracted by the distillation and 70% ethanol reflux methods, respectively. In comparing each extract, the index compounds were analyzed, and antioxidant activity was measured. Methods The index compounds, ginsenoside Rg1 and ginsenoside Rb1, were detected using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Antioxidative activities of total phenolic compounds, DPPH (α, α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)) and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) were measured to compare their bioactivities. Since saponin is known to be hemolytic, the hemolytic activity of each extract was compared. Results The index compounds were analyzed. Nothing was detected in the wild ginseng distilled extracts (WGDE). In the wild ginseng 70% ethanol reflux extracts (WGEE), ginsenoside Rg1 was 3.66 mg/g, and ginsenoside Rb1 was 16.70 mg/g. WGEE showed higher levels than WGDE in all antioxidative activities. In the hemolytic test, the extracts showed almost no toxicity, but WGEE showed lower toxicity than WGDE. Conclusions In this study, it was concluded that WGEE is more advantageous than WGDE in the detection of index compounds and bioactivity. However, additional studies of additional extraction methods and other bioactivity tests are needed. Keywords: wild ginseng pharmacopuncture, distilled extraction, reflux extraction, ginsenoside, antioxidative activity