Chemical Differentiation and Quality Evaluation of Commercial Asian and American Ginsengs based on a UHPLC–QTOF/MS/MS Metabolomics Approach

Abstract Introduction Asian and American ginsengs are widely used medicinal materials and are being used more and more in health products. The two materials look alike but function differently. Various forms of both types of ginseng are found in the market, causing confusion for consumers in their choice. Objective To evaluate the overall quality of commercial Asian and American ginsengs and investigate the characteristic chemical markers for differentiating between them. Methods This article investigated 17 Asian and 21 American ginseng samples using an ultra‐HPLC combined with quadrupole time‐of‐flight MS/MS technique. The data were processed by principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis. Results In the chromatograms, a total of 40 peaks were detected. Among them, six were positively identified, and all of the remainder were tentatively identified. According to statistical results, ginsenosides Rf, Rb 2 and Rc together with their isomers and derivatives were more likely to be present in Asian ginsengs, whereas ginsenoside Rb 1 , pseudoginsenoside F 11 and ginsenoside Rd together with their isomers and derivatives tended to be present in American ginsengs. For Asian ginsengs, ginsenoside Ra 3 and 20‐ β ‐D‐glucopyranosyl‐ginsenoside‐Rf were more likely to be present in forest samples, whereas contents of floralquinquenoside B, ginsenosides Ro and Rc, and zingibroside R 1 were higher in sun‐dried ginsengs. For American ginseng, wild samples often had more of the notoginsenosides R 1 and Rw 2 and less of the ginsenosides Rd, Rd isomer and 20 (S) ‐Rg 3 than cultivated samples. Conclusion The method provided important fingerprint information for authentication and evaluation of Asian and American ginsengs from various commercial products. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.