Mass spectrometry-based ginsenoside profiling: Recent applications, limitations, and perspectives

• Published in: Journal of ginseng research 2024, 48(2), , pp.149-162
• Main Authors: Kim, Hyun Woo, Kim, Dae Hyun, Ryu, Byeol, Chung, You Jin, Lee, Kyungha, Kim, Young Chang, Lee, Jung Woo, Kim, Dong Hwi, Jang, Woojong, Cho, Woohyeon, Shim, Hyeonah, Sung, Sang Hyun, Yang, Tae-Jin, Kang, Kyo Bin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemical profiling; Genetic variation; Ginseng; Ginsenoside; Mass spectrometry; Review; 기타의약학
• ISSN: 1226-8453; 2093-4947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jgr.2024.01.004

Ginseng, the roots of Panax species, is an important medicinal herb used as a tonic. As ginsenosides are key bioactive components of ginseng, holistic chemical profiling of them has provided many insights into understanding ginseng. Mass spectrometry has been a major methodology for profiling, which has been applied to realize numerous goals in ginseng research, such as the discrimination of different species, geographical origins, and ages, and the monitoring of processing and biotransformation. This review summarizes the various applications of ginsenoside profiling in ginseng research over the last three decades that have contributed to expanding our understanding of ginseng. However, we also note that most of the studies overlooked a crucial factor that influences the levels of ginsenosides: genetic variation. To highlight the effects of genetic variation on the chemical contents, we present our results of untargeted and targeted ginsenoside profiling of different genotypes cultivated under identical conditions, in addition to data regarding genome-level genetic diversity. Additionally, we analyze the other limitations of previous studies, such as imperfect variable control, deficient metadata, and lack of additional effort to validate causation. We conclude that the values of ginsenoside profiling studies can be enhanced by overcoming such limitations, as well as by integrating with other -omics techniques. [Display omitted]