Ginsenosides in Roots and Leaves of American Ginseng

Abstract

The six major ginsenosides, Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, and Rd, in roots and leaves of American ginseng have been isolated and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. In 4-year-old roots, the main ginsenosides were Re and Rb1, and together they accounted for >75% of the total ginsenosides. In leaves, the concentration and composition of ginsenosides varied with the maturity of the leaf tissue. One-month-old leaves contained 1.33−2.64 g ginsenoside/100 g dry weight, and the ginsenoside Re accounted for >50% of the total concentration. In mature, 4-month-old leaves, the total ginsenoside content ranged from 4.14 to 5.58 g/100 g dry weight, and the ginsenosides Re and Rd each accounted for ∼40% of the total ginsenosides. The production site of ginseng influenced the ginsenoside contents of roots and leaves. However, few significant correlations were found between root and leaf ginsenosides and between ginsenoside levels and mineral composition of the leaves and soil. Keywords: Panax quinquefolium; saponins; ginsenosides; HPLC analysis; soil fertility; leaf tissue nutrient status

Variable effects of American ginseng: a batch of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) with a depressed ginsenoside profile does not affect postprandial glycemia

“…Intraspecies variation has been shown to be of equal concern. Intrapsecies coefficient-of-variation (CV), for example, can be extrapolated from a study of American ginseng (AG) harvested at the same time from nine British Columbian farms (Li et al, 1996). It was calculated to range from 16 to 38% for the seven most common ginsenosides and their totals and from 28 to 122% for ginsenoside-specific ratios used in its authentication.…”

Leaves of North American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius L.: A renewable source of certain ginsenosides

“…Using HPLC, Konsler et al (1990) determined levels of five individual ginsenosides (A1, Rg 1 , Rd, Re, and Rb 2 ) in leaves of 4-yr-old P. quinquefolius grown under various rates of applied lime and phosphorus and harvested in late summer before color change. Other HPLC studies have reported levels of Rg 1 , Re, Rb 1 , Rc, Rb 2 , and Rd in leaves and in leaves and stems of P. quinquefolius (Li et al 1996;Li and Mazza 1999). In a comparison of leaves of 4-yr-old plants collected mid-June and early September, Li et al (1996) found that the content of total leaf ginsenosides increased from 1.86% for the young leaves to 4.16% for the mature leaves.…”

“…Other HPLC studies have reported levels of Rg 1 , Re, Rb 1 , Rc, Rb 2 , and Rd in leaves and in leaves and stems of P. quinquefolius (Li et al 1996;Li and Mazza 1999). In a comparison of leaves of 4-yr-old plants collected mid-June and early September, Li et al (1996) found that the content of total leaf ginsenosides increased from 1.86% for the young leaves to 4.16% for the mature leaves. None of these studies reported levels of acidic (malonylated) ginsenosides nor did the later studies report the occurrence of Rb 3 and PG-F 11 identified earlier in P. quinquefolius leaves.…”

“…Failure to report these ginsenosides in later analytical studies may have been due to the unavailability of standards. Indeed, published chromatograms of leaf extracts (Li et al 1996) show unidentified peaks at retention times compatible with the presence of Rb 3 and PG-F 11 . The inclusion of results for these two ginsenosides explains, in part, why values for total ginsenosides reported herein (Table 1) are greater than those of Li et al (1996).…”

“…Interestingly, only very low or no correlation between individual ginsenoside levels of leaves and roots has been observed (Konsler et al 1990;Li et al 1996;Li and Mazza 1999).…”