ISOLATION OF HIGH PURITY GINSENOSIDES FROM PLANT EXTRACT OF PANAX GINSENG BY HIGH PERFORMANCE CENTRIFUGAL PARTITION CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED WITH EVAPORATIVE LIGHT SCATTERING DETECTION

Abstract

A high performance centrifugal partition chromatography (HPCPC) combined with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) was developed for the separation of ginsenosides from Panax ginseng. Two compounds, ginsenosides Rb1 and Rb2, were isolated and purified by HPCPC using an optimized two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate–n–butanol–water (0.8:1.2:2, v/v/v). The purities of the two ginsenosides were 95.6% and 97.8%, respectively, as determined by high performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC–ELSD). The identification of the ginsenosides Rb1 and Rb2 in the extract of P. ginseng was based on matching their retention times with those of the authentic standards. The results demonstrate that HPCPC-ELSD is a feasible and efficient technique for isolation of nonchromophoric components from traditional medicinal herbs.