Simultaneous analysis of ginsenosides of various ginseng radix by HPLC

Abstract

A simultaneous analysis of ginsenosides in Panax ginseng by high performance liquid chromatography recently established by us was applied to the analysis of various Ginseng Radix. The contents of ginsenosides in P. ginseng were examined according to the differences of the growth year, the used part of the plant, the method of processing and the cultivated location. In the case of P. ginseng cultivated in Nagano, Japan, the ratio (total ginsenosides content/total dry root weight) increases annually for three years. And it decreased at the fourth year and increases again at the fifth and the sixth years. Concerning the distribution of ginsenosides in the parts of the plant, they were contained at the highest level in a lateral root and in succession, in a rhizome > in a root hair > in a main root. They were also distributed much richer at periderm than at phloem or at xylem of a main root. The contents of panaxadiol- and panaxatriol-saponins gradually increase with the growth year, whereas an oleananesaponin, ginsenoside-Ro, drastically increases at the sixth year and goes to 15-fold, which suggests that the content of ginsenoside-Ro needs to be estimated much more when Ginseng Radix is evaluated. The fact that the processing for preparation of Red Ginseng increases the total content of saponins was clearly revealed by the present study. The highest contents of saponins among Red Ginsengs (all 6-year-old) were observed in ones prepared in Korea, and in Japan > in China, successively.