Foam Floatation-SPE for Separation and Concentration of Trace Ginsenosides

Abstract

A foam floatation (FF) process and a solid phase extraction (SPE) process were synchronously applied to the separation and concentration of ginsenosides from extracts of Panax quinquefolius L. The selectivity and sensitivity for the determination of the ginsenosides were improved. The experimental conditions, including volumes of the sample solutions, pH value of sample solution, the flow rate of nitrogen gas and floatation time for FF and elution conditions for SPE were examined and optimized. Average recoveries for protopanaxadiol (PPD) ginsenosides Rc, Rb2, Rb3, Rd, and Rb1 were between 84.5 and 98.8%. The relative standard deviations were lower than 6.73% for the PPD ginsenosides. The results were satisfactory since both FF and SPE were synchronously applied to both the separation and concentration. The proposed method is not only of importance for the concentration and separation of ginsenosides in extracts from P. quinquefolius L., but also of great potential in the separation and concentration of trace compounds in the other solution samples.