Application of column chromatography to ginseng saponins separation

Protopanaxdiol, protopanxtriol and Oleanonic acid are the main active ingredients in ginseng. The protopanaxdiol is the main material from which gins enoside Rg 3 is produced by chemical converting. Column chromatography method has been applied to separate a large quantity of protopanaxdiol from western ginseng saponins. In this experiment, 36.6?g protopanaxdiol has been separated from 98.1?g western general ginseng saponins and the corresponding separation rate is 37.3%. This provides the possibility of mass production of ginsenosid e Rh 2 from Rg 3.