Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul;42(3):277-287.
doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2017.02.003. Epub 2017 Feb 27.

Remarkable impact of steam temperature on ginsenosides transformation from fresh ginseng to red ginseng

Xin-Fang Xu  1 , Yan Gao  1 , Shu-Ya Xu  1 , Huan Liu  1 , Xue Xue  1 , Ying Zhang  1 , Hui Zhang  1 , Meng-Nan Liu  1 , Hui Xiong  1 , Rui-Chao Lin  1   2 , Xiang-Ri Li  1   2
Affiliations

Remarkable impact of steam temperature on ginsenosides transformation from fresh ginseng to red ginseng

Xin-Fang Xu et al. J Ginseng Res. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Temperature is an essential condition in red ginseng processing. The pharmacological activities of red ginseng under different steam temperatures are significantly different.

Methods: In this study, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was developed to distinguish the red ginseng products that were steamed at high and low temperatures. Multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis and supervised orthogonal partial least squared discrimination analysis were used to determine the influential components of the different samples.

Results: The results showed that different steamed red ginseng samples can be identified, and the characteristic components were 20-gluco-ginsenoside Rf, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rg1, and malonyl-ginsenoside Rb1 in red ginseng steamed at low temperature. Meanwhile, the characteristic components in red ginseng steamed at high temperature were 20R-ginsenoside Rs3 and ginsenoside Rs4. Polar ginsenosides were abundant in red ginseng steamed at low temperature, whereas higher levels of less polar ginsenosides were detected in red ginseng steamed at high temperature.

Conclusion: This study makes the first time that differences between red ginseng steamed under different temperatures and their ginsenosides transformation have been observed systematically at the chemistry level. The results suggested that the identified chemical markers can be used to illustrate the transformation of ginsenosides in red ginseng processing.

Keywords: MVA; UPLC–QTOF-MS/MS; red ginseng; steaming temperature; transformation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative base peak intensity chromatograms of red ginseng samples. (A) Red ginseng (HH). (B) Red ginseng (HL). ES-, negative electrospray ionization; HH, high temperature; HL, low temperature; neg, negative; TIC, total ion chromatography; TOF MS, time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The PCA of red ginseng at different steaming temperature. PCA, principal component analysis; HH, high temperature; HL, low temperature; NEG: negative ion model.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The S-Plot of red ginseng at different steaming temperature. 1 ion (tR = 5.58 min, m/z 1,077.5450), 2 ion (tR = 6.06 min, m/z 991.5478), 3 ion (tR = 6.08 min, m/z 845.4918), 4 ion (tR = 7.95 min, m/z 845.4921), 5 ion (tR = 8.37 min, m/z 1,153.6040), 6 ion (tR = 8.47 min, m/z 1,193.5976), 7 ion (tR = 8.63 min, m/z 1,123.5930), 8 ion (tR = 8.86 min, m/z 1,123.5930), 9 ion (tR = 8.88 min, m/z 1,123.5930), 10 ion (tR = 9.43 min, m/z 1,165.6030), 11 ion (tR = 9.48 min, m/z 991.5521), 12 ion (tR = 9.68 min, m/z 1,165.6040); 13 ion (tR = 8.60 min, m/z 683.4375), 14 ion (tR = 10.40 min, m/z 827.4811), 15 ion (tR = 10.62 min, m/z 827.4809), 16 ion (tR = 11.02 min, m/z 811.4861), 17 ion (tR = 11.24 min, m/z 811.4862), 18 ion (tR = 11.34 min, m/z 665.4270), 19 ion (tR = 11.59 min, m/z 665.4271), 20 ion (tR = 12.18 min, m/z 829.4970), 21 ion (tR = 12.36 min, m/z 829.4972), 22 ion (tR = 13.31 min, m/z 871.5072), 23 ion (tR = 13.49 min, m/z 871.5073), 24 ion (tR = 14.29 min, m/z 811.4860), 25 ion (tR = 14.49 min, m/z 811.4863), 26 ion (tR = 15.54 min, m/z 853.4965), 27 ion (tR = 15.76 min, m/z 853.4968).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Representative ion-intensity plot for marker ions over 20 samples. (A) Ginsenoside Rb1 at m/z 1,153.6040 (tR = 8.37 min). (B) Ginsenoside Re at m/z 991.5519 (tR = 6.06 min). (C) ginsenoside Rg5 at m/z 811.4863 (tR = 14.49 min). (D) 20S-Ginsenoside Rs3 at m/z 871.5073 (tR = 13.49 min).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The HPLC chromatograms of ginseng samples. A: Red ginseng (100°C); B: Red ginseng (120°C); C: Fresh ginseng. (1: Rg1; 2: Re; 3: Rf; 4: Rg2; 5: Rb1; 6: Rc; 7: Rb2; 8: Rb3). HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The HPLC chromatograms of Red ginseng samples. A: Red ginseng (120°C); B: Red ginseng (100°C). (1: Rg3). HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
The changes in HPLC chromatograms of ginsenoside Rb1 by different steam temperature. A: Red ginseng (100°C); B: Red ginseng (120°C). (1: Rb1; 2: 20(S)-Rg3; 3: 20(R)-Rg3; 4: Rk1; 5: Rg5). HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Structure of protopanaxatriol ginsenoside.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Structure of protopanaxadiol ginsenoside.
Fig. 10
Fig. 10
Transformation of ginsenosides in Red ginseng. HH: high temperature; HL: low temperature. (ara(f): α-l-arabinofuranosyl; ara(p): α-l-arabinopyranosyl; rha:α-l-ahamnopyranosyl; glc: β-d-glucopyranosyl; xyl: β-d-xylopyranosyl; Mal: malonyl; Bu: trans-but-2-enoyl).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kennedy D.O., Scholey A.B. Ginseng: potential for the enhancement of cognitive performance and mood. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2003;75:687–700. - PubMed
    1. Coleman C.I., Hebert J.H., Reddy P. The effects of Panax ginseng on quality of life. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2003;28:5–15. - PubMed
    1. Jiao L., Zhang X., Wang M., Li B., Liu Z., Liu S. Chemical and antihyperglycemic activity changes of ginseng pectin induced by heat processing. Carbohydr Polym. 2014;114:567–573. - PubMed
    1. Yang W.Z., Ye M., Qiao X., Liu C.F., Miao W.J., Bo T., Tao H.Y., Guo D.A. A strategy for efficient discovery of new natural compounds by integrating orthogonal column chromatography and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis: its application in Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium and Panax notoginseng to characterize 437 potential new ginsenosides. Anal Chim Acta. 2012;739:56–66. - PubMed
    1. Wang Y., Chen Y., Xu H., Luo H., Jiang R. Analgesic effects of glycoproteins from Panax ginseng root in mice. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013;148:946–950. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources