Identification of ginsenoside markers from dry purified extract of Panax ginseng by a dereplication approach and UPLC–QTOF/MS analysis

• Published in: Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis 2015-05, Vol.109, p.91-104
• Main Authors: Yang, Heejung, Lee, Dong Young, Kang, Kyo Bin, Kim, Jeom Yong, Kim, Sun Ok, Yoo, Young Hyo, Sung, Sang Hyun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dereplication; Drug Compounding; Ginsenoside; Ginsenosides - analysis; Mass Spectrometry; Panax - chemistry; Panax ginseng; Polyethylene Glycols - chemistry; Reference Standards; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; UPLC–QTOF
• ISSN: 0731-7085; 1873-264X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2015.02.034

•The dereplication approach for the rapid ID of ginsenosides in ginseng preparation was developed.•The dereplication approach using LC/MS analysis helped the discovery of new ginsenosides.•The metabolic markers during manufacturing process were suggested by LC/MS and multivariate analysis.•The metabolic pathway of ginsenosides during the manufacturing process were proposed.•This approach can be utilized as the new quality control of ginseng preparations. A dry purified extract of Panax ginseng (PEG) was prepared using a manufacturing process that includes column chromatography, acid hydrolysis, and an enzyme reaction. During the manufacturing process, the more polar ginsenosides were altered into less polar forms via cleavage of their sugar chains and structural modifications of the aglycones, such as hydroxylation and dehydroxylation. The structural changes of ginsenosides during the intermediate steps from dried ginseng extract (DGE) to PEG were monitored by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (UPLC–QTOF/MS). 22 ginsenosides isolated from PEG were used as the reference standards for determining of unknown ginsenosides and further suggesting of the metabolic markers. The elution order of 22 ginsenosides based on the type of aglycones, and the location and number of sugar chains can be used for the structural elucidation of unknown ginsenosides. This information could be used in a dereplication process for quick and efficient identification of ginsenoside derivatives in ginseng preparations. A dereplication approach helped the identification of the metabolic markers in the UPLC–QTOF/MS chromatograms during the conversion process with multivariate analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) plots. These metabolic markers were identified by comparing with the dereplication information of the reference standards of 22 ginsenosides, or they were assigned using the pattern of the MS/MS fragmented ions. Consequently, the developed metabolic profiling approach using UPLC–QTOF/MS and multivariate analysis represents a new method for providing quality control as well as useful criteria for a similarity evaluation of the manufacturing process of ginseng preparations.