The Neglected Ginsenosides of North American Ginseng (Panax quinquefoliusL.)

The high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedures commonly employed for the assay of ginsenosides in Panax quinquefolius L. (North American Ginseng) neglect assessment of acidic, mainly malonyl, ginsenosides. As such, total ginsenoside values for this species, in contrast with corresponding values for Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Asian Ginseng) in which the level of acidic ginsenosides is much lower, are usually gross underestimates of total ginsenoside content. Malonyl ginsenosides are readily susceptible to hydrolysis, a process accelerated by heat and catalyzed under both basic and acidic conditions. There can be little question that these acidic ginsenosides, more polar and water soluble than their neutral progenitors, are significant active constituents of ginseng root and should be as routinely evaluated as the seven or six neutral ginsenosides normally assessed.