Comprehensive profiling and quantification of ginsenosides in the root, stem, leaf, and berry of panax ginseng by UPLC-QTOF/MS

The effective production and usage of ginsenosides, given their distinct pharmacological effects, are receiving increasing amounts of attention. As the ginsenosides content differs in different parts of Panax ginseng, we wanted to assess and compare the ginsenosides content in the ginseng roots, leave, stems, and berries. To extract the ginsenosides, 70% (v/v) methanol was used. The optimal ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) method was used to profile various ginsenosides from the different parts of P. ginseng. The datasets were then subjected to multivariate analysis including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). A UPLC-QTOF/MS method with an in-house library was constructed to profile 58 ginsenosides. With this method, a total of 39 ginsenosides were successfully identified and quantified in the ginseng roots, leave, stem, and berries. PCA and HCA characterized the different ginsenosides compositions from the different parts. The quantitative ginsenoside contents were also characterized from each plant part. The results of this study indicate that the UPLC-QTOF/MS method can be an effective tool to characterize various ginsenosides from the different parts of P. ginseng.