title: Rapid characterization of ginsenosides in the roots and rhizomes ofPanax ginsengby UPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS and simultaneous determination of 19 ginsenosides by HPLC-ESI-MS.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ginsenosides are the characteristic and principal components which manifest a variety of the biological and pharmacological activities of the roots and rhizomes ofPanax 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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This newly developed analysis method could be applied to the quality assessment of GRR as well as the distinction between cultivated and forest GRR.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Department of Natural Medicines, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Department of Natural Medicines, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: You-Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Department of Natural Medicines, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Da-Qing
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Special Wild Economic Animals and Plants Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Ying-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: HPLC-ESI-MS; Panax ginseng; UPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS; cultivated ginseng; forest ginseng