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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #250418
Title: Rapid Mass Spectroscopic Fingerprinting Method and Principal Component Analysis for Differentiation between American Ginseng, Chinese Ginseng, and Notoginseng

Author
item Chen, Pei
item Harnly, James - Jim

Submitted to: Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2010
Publication Date: 1/1/2011
Citation: Chen, P., Harnly, J.M. 2011. Rapid Mass Spectroscopic Fingerprinting Method and Principal Component Analysis for Differentiation between American Ginseng, Chinese Ginseng, and Notoginseng. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 94:90-99.

Interpretive Summary: Ginseng has been used for thousands of years as a traditional medicine in many countries. Traditionally, visual inspections have been the method of authentication, but they are not applicable to final forms of modern herbal products, e.g. herbal extracts, tablets, and capsules. Detection of different chemical constituents in ginseng as an authentication tool is needed. Traditional high-performance liquid chromatography-based analytical methods usually take more than 60 minutes of analysis time. This study investigated a fast method that use mass spectroscopic fingerprints with principal component analysis (PCA) to differentiate between American Ginseng, Chinese Ginseng, and Notoginseng in less than 2 minutes.

Technical Abstract: Ginseng has been used for thousands of years as a traditional medicine in many countries. Traditionally, histological and morphological inspections have been the usual methods of authentication, but they are not applicable to final forms of modern herbal products, e.g. herbal extracts and dosage forms. Detection of different chemical constituents in ginseng as an authentication tool is needed. Traditional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based analytical methods usually take more than 60 minutes of analysis time. This study investigated a fast method that use mass spectroscopic fingerprints with principal component analysis (PCA) to differentiate between American Ginseng, Chinese Ginseng, and Notoginseng in less than 2 minutes.