Abstract
BackgroundFatty acid profiling has been widely used in the bacteria species identification, we hypothesized that fatty acid characteristics might discriminate the Panax herbs according to species. To test the hypothesis, fatty acids of Panax species, including Panax ginseng, Panax notoginseng and Panax quinquefolius, were characterized and compared using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by multivariate statistical analysis.ResultsThe content of investigated 11 fatty acids, including myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, heptadecanoic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid, arachidic acid and eicosadienoic acid, obviously varied among three species, suggesting each species has its own fatty acid pattern. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis according to the absolute and relative contents of fatty acids, showed that 30 tested samples could be clearly differentiated according to the species.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrated that GC-MS-based fatty acid profiling coupled with multivariate statistical analysis provides reliable platform to classify these three Panax species, which is helpful for ensuring their safety and efficacy.
Highlights
Fatty acid profiling has been widely used in the bacteria species identification, we hypothesized that fatty acid characteristics might discriminate the Panax herbs according to species
The mixed standards were measured in succession for six times and 11 investigated fatty acids were selected to monitor the instrumental drift
The peak area variations of fatty acids were less than 5%, suggesting good instrumental performance during the whole analytical run
Summary
Fatty acid profiling has been widely used in the bacteria species identification, we hypothesized that fatty acid characteristics might discriminate the Panax herbs according to species. Fatty acids of Panax species, including Panax ginseng, Panax notoginseng and Panax quinquefolius, were characterized and compared using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by multivariate statistical analysis. Several plants of the Panax species (Family Araliaceae), including Panax ginseng C. (American ginseng) and Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen (Notoginseng), have been traditionally used as valuable medicinal herbs since the ancient times in the oriental countries. Current phytochemical and pharmacological studies revealed that Panax species contain a variety of bioactive ingredients, including triterpene saponins (ginsenosides), fatty acids, polysaccharides and polyacetylenes [1], and exhibit extensively beneficial effects on immune system, central nervous system and cardiovascular system, cancer and diabetes, etc. Fatty acids, traditionally viewed as the source of energy, have attracted interest for research and public health, due to their
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