Search Results (7)

The flower buds of three Panax species (PGF: P. ginseng; PQF: P. quinquefolius; PNF: P. notoginseng) widely consumed as health tea are easily confused in market circulation. We aimed to develop a green, fast, and easy analysis strategy to distinguish PGF, PQF, and PNF. In this work, fast gas chromatography electronic nose (fast GC e-nose), headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), and headspace solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) were utilized to comprehensively analyze the volatile organic components (VOCs) of three flowers. Meanwhile, a principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap were applied to distinguish the VOCs identified in PGF, PQF, and PNF. A random forest (RF) analysis was used to screen key factors affecting the discrimination. As a result, 39, 68, and 78 VOCs were identified in three flowers using fast GC e-nose, HS-GC-IMS, and HS-SPME-GC-MS. Nine VOCs were selected as potential chemical markers based on a model of RF for distinguishing these three species. Conclusively, a complete VOC analysis strategy was created to provide a methodological reference for the rapid, simple, and environmentally friendly detection and identification of food products (tea, oil, honey, etc.) and herbs with flavor characteristics and to provide a basis for further specification of their quality and base sources. Full article

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) catalyzes a wide variety of monooxygenation reactions in plant primary and secondary metabolisms. Land plants contain CYP703, belonging to the CYP71 clan, which catalyzes the biochemical pathway of fatty acid hydroxylation, especially in male reproductive tissues. Korean/Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been regarded as one of important medicinal plant for a long time, however the molecular mechanism is less known on its development. In this study, we identified and characterized a CYP703A gene in P. ginseng (PgCYP703A4), regarding reproductive development. PgCYP703A4 shared a high-sequence identity (81–83%) with predicted amino acid as CYP703 in Dancus carota, Pistacia vera, and Camellia sinensis as well as 76% of amino acid sequence identity with reported CYP703 in Arabidopsis thaliana and 75% with Oryza sativa. Amino acid alignment and phylogenetic comparison of P. ginseng with higher plants and known A. thaliana members clearly distinguish the CYP703 members, each containing the AATDTS oxygen binding motif and PERH as a clade signature. The expression of PgCYP704B1 was only detected in P. ginseng flower buds, particularly in meiotic cells and the tapetum layer of developing anther, indicating the conserved role on male reproduction with At- and Os- CYP703. To acquire the clue of function, we transformed the PgCYP703A4 in A. thaliana. Independent overexpressing lines (PgCYP703A4ox) increased silique size and seed number, and altered the contents of fatty acids composition of cutin monomer in the siliques. Our results indicate that PgCYP703A4 is involved in fatty acid hydroxylation which affects cutin production and fruit size. Full article

Ginsenosides are the major bioactive constituents of Panax ginseng, which have pharmacological effects. Although there are several reviews in regards to ginsenosides, new ginsenosides have been detected continually in recent years. This review updates the ginsenoside list from P. ginseng to 170 by the end of 2019, and aims to highlight the diversity of ginsenosides in multiple dimensions, including chemical structure, tissue spatial distribution, time, and isomeride. Protopanaxadiol, protopanaxatriol and C17 side-chain varied (C17SCV) manners are the major types of ginsenosides, and the constitute of ginsenosides varied significantly among different parts. Only 16 ginsenosides commonly exist in all parts of a ginseng plant. Protopanaxadiol-type ginsenoside is dominant in root, rhizome, leaf, stem, and fruit, whereas malonyl- and C17SCV-type ginsenosides occupy a greater proportion in the flower and flower bud compared with other parts. In respects of isomeride, there are 69 molecular formulas corresponding to 170 ginsenosides, and the median of isomers is 2. This is the first review on diversity of ginsenosides, providing information for reasonable utilization of whole ginseng plant, and the perspective on studying the physiological functions of ginsenoside for the ginseng plant itself is also proposed. Full article

The flower buds of three Panax species (PGF: flower bud of P. ginseng; PQF: flower bud of P. quinquefolius; PNF: flower bud of P. notoginseng), widely consumed as healthcare products, are easily confused particularly in the extracts or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulae. We are aimed to develop an untargeted metabolomics approach, by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS) to unveil the chemical markers diagnostic for the differentiation of PGF, PQF, and PNF. Key parameters affecting chromatographic separation and MS detection were optimized in sequence. Forty-two batches of flower bud samples were analyzed in negative high-definition MS^E (HDMS^E; enabling three-dimensional separations). Efficient metabolomics data processing was performed by Progenesis QI (Waters, Milford, MA, USA), while pattern-recognition chemometrics was applied for species classification and potential markers discovery. Reference compounds comparison, analysis of both HDMS^E and targeted MS/MS data, and retrieval of an in-house ginsenoside library, were simultaneously utilized for the identification of discovered potential markers. Satisfactory conditions for metabolite profiling were achieved on a BEH Shield RP18 column and Vion™ IMS-QTOF instrument (Waters; by setting the capillary voltage of 1.0 kV and the cone of voltage 20 V) within 37 min. A total of 32 components were identified as the potential markers, of which Rb3, Ra1, isomer of m-Rc/m-Rb2/m-Rb3, isomer of Ra1/Ra2, Rb1, and isomer of Ra3, were the most important for differentiating among PGF, PQF, and PNF. Conclusively, UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS-based metabolomics is a powerful tool for the authentication of TCM at the metabolome level. Full article

Ionic liquids (ILs) are recognized as a possible replacement of traditional organic solvents, and ILs have been widely applied to extract various compounds. The present work aims to extract ginsenosides from Panax ginseng flower buds using aqueous ionic liquid based ultrasonic assisted extraction (IL-UAE). The extraction yields of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids with different anions and alkyl chains were evaluated. The extraction parameters of eight ginsenosides were optimized by utilizing response surface methodology (RSM). The model demonstrated that a high yield of total ginsenosides could be obtained using IL-UAE, and the optimum extraction parameters were 0.23 M [C₄mim][BF₄], ultrasonic time of 23 min, temperature of extraction set to 30 °C, and liquid-solid ratio of 31:1. After that, an aqueous biphasic system (ABS) was used to separate ginsenosides further. The nature and concentration of salt, as well as the value of pH in ionic liquid were evaluated, and the optimal conditions (6.0 mL IL extract, 3 g NaH₂PO₄, and pH 5.0) were obtained. The preconcentration factor was 2.58, and extraction efficiency reached 64.53%. The results indicate that as a simple and efficient method, an IL-UAE-ABS can be considered as a promising method for extracting and separating the natural active compounds from medicinal herbs. Full article

The present study was designed to simultaneously isolate the less polar ginsenosides from the flower buds of Panax ginseng (FBPG). Five ginsenosides, including a pair of new 20-methoxyl isomers, were extracted from FBPG and purified through a five-step integrated strategy, by combining ultrasonic extraction, Diaion Hp-20 macroporous resin column enrichment, solid phase extraction (SPE), reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis and preparation, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. The quantification of the five ginsenosides was also discussed by a developed method with validations within acceptable limits. Ginsenoside Rg5 showed content of about 1% in FBPG. The results indicated that FBPG might have many different ginsenosides with diverse chemical structures, and the less polar ginsenosides were also important to the quality control and standardization of FBPG. Full article

In this paper, the isolation, purification and quantification of ginsenoside F₅ and F₃ isomeric compounds from crude extracts of flower buds of Panax ginseng (CEFBPG) was investigated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for the first time. The satisfied separation at analytical scale was achieved using a Zorbax Eclipse XDB C-18 column with a ternary mobile phase of acetonitrile–water–phosphoric acid (28:71:1) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min within 40 min. UV detection was set at 203 nm. Ginsenoside F₅ and F₃ was 4.21 mg and 5.13 mg in 1 g flower buds of P. ginseng (FBPG), respectively. The preparation of ginsenoside F₅ and F₃ at semi-preparative scale was performed by using a Daisogel C-18 column and gradient elution system of acetonitrile–water (32:68 → 28:72) at a flow rate of 10 mL/min with a sample load of 20–30 mg, and yielded ginsenosides in purity of more than 96%. Their structures were characterized by NMR and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS). All the method validations showed acceptable limits. The results indicate a new source to obtain ginsenoside F₅ and F₃, and show that the method developed here appears to be reliable for simultaneously preparing them from CEFBPG. Full article