Rapid characterization of ginsenosides in the roots and rhizomes of Panax ginseng by UPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS and simultaneous determination of 19 ginsenosides by HPLC-ESI-MS

BACKGROUND: Ginsenosides are the characteristic and principal components which manifest a variety of the biological and pharmacological activities of the roots and rhizomes of Panax ginseng (GRR). This study was carried out to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the ginsenosides in the cultivated and forest GRR. METHODS: A rapid and sensitive ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode-array detector and quadrupole/time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS) was applied to the qualitative analysis of ginsenosides and a 4000 QTRAP triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (HPLC-ESI-MS) was applied to quantitative analysis of 19 ginsenosides. RESULTS: In the qualitative analysis, all ingredients were separated in 10 min. A total of 131 ginsenosides were detected in cultivated and forest GRR. The method for the quantitative determination was validated for linearity, precision, and limits of detection and quantification. 19 representative ginsenosides were quantitated. The total content of all 19 ginsenosides in the forest GRR were much higher than those in the cultivated GRR, and were increased with the growing ages. CONCLUSION: This newly developed analysis method could be applied to the quality assessment of GRR as well as the distinction between cultivated and forest GRR.