title: A green protocol for efficient discovery of novel natural compounds: characterization of new ginsenosides from the stems and leaves of Panax ginseng as a case study.
abstract: Exploration of new natural compounds is of vital significance for drug discovery and development. The conventional approaches by systematic phytochemical isolation are low-efficiency and consume masses of organic solvent. This study presents an integrated strategy that combines offline comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography, hybrid linear ion-trap/Orbitrap mass spectrometry, and NMR analysis (2D LC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/NMR), aimed to establish a green protocol for the efficient discovery of new natural molecules. A comprehensive chemical analysis of the total ginsenosides of stems and leaves of Panax ginseng (SLP), a cardiovascular disease medicine, was performed following this strategy. An offline 2D LC system was constructed with an orthogonality of 0.79 and a practical peak capacity of 11,000. The much greener UHPLC separation and LTQ-Orbitrap-MS detection by data-dependent high-energy C-trap dissociation (HCD)/dynamic exclusion were employed for separation and characterization of ginsenosides from thirteen fractionated SLP samples. Consequently, a total of 646 ginsenosides were characterized, and 427 have not been isolated from the genus of Panax L. The ginsenosides identified from SLP exhibited distinct sapogenin diversity and molecular isomerism. NMR analysis was finally employed to verify and offer complementary structural information to MS-oriented characterization. The established 2D LC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS/NMR approach outperforms the conventional approaches in respect of significantly improved efficiency, much less use of drug materials and organic solvent. The integrated strategy enables a deep investigation on the therapeutic basis of an herbal medicine, and facilitates new compounds discovery in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner as well.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Zhi
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jian
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Chang-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Hong
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China. Electronic address: wanyingwu@simm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wan-Ying
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Engineering Laboratory for TCM Standardization Technology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Haike Road 501, Shanghai 201203, China. Electronic address: daguo@simm.ac.cn.
authors.forename: De-An
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products / Q000032:analysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D056148:Chromatography, Reverse-Phase; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D036145:Ginsenosides
keywords: Ginsenoside; HCD; LTQ-Orbitrap-MS; Offline comprehensive 2D LC; Sapogenin diversity; Stems and leaves of Panax ginseng