Comparison of Phytochemical Composition of Ginkgo biloba Extracts Using a Combination of Non-targeted and Targeted Analytical Approaches

Authors: COLLINS, BRADLEY - National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH); RIDER, CYNTHIA - National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH); WAIDYANATHA, SURAYAMA - National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH); MUELLER, GEOFFREY - National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH); DEROSE, EUGENE - National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH); LONDON, ROBERT - National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS, NIH); KERNS, SEASON - Mri Global; AILLON,, KRISTIN - Mri Global; Harnly, James - Jim

Submitted to: Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/23/2020
Publication Date: 8/31/2020
Citation: Collins, B., Rider, C., Waidyanatha, ., Mueller, G., Derose, E., London, R., Kerns, S., Aillon,, K., Harnly, J.M. 2020. Comparison of Phytochemical Composition of Ginkgo biloba Extracts Using a Combination of Non-targeted and Targeted Analytical Approaches. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 412:6789–6809. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02839-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02839-7

Interpretive Summary: Extract from the plant Ginkgo biloba is used in many commercial dietary supplements. This study obtained the extracts from many commercial products and examined them for their phytochemical composition and liver toxicity. Using targeted (methods aimed at specific compounds) and non-targeted (multicomponent survey methods ) analyses, commercial products were compared to an NIEHS standard extract previously used for rodent toxicological studies. Using both targeted and non-targeted methods, eight products were identified as similar to the standard extract and 16 were identified as different. This study confirmed the similarity of the NIEHS extract to commercial extracts on the market and supported the possibility that Ginkgo biloba can be toxic to the liver.

Technical Abstract: Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) is an ethanolic extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves, with a complex composition. GbE is an ingredient in many commercially available dietary supplements marketed for improving brain function and is sold by a large number of vendors worldwide. Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) is a dietary supplement derived from an ethanolic extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves. Unfinished bulk GbE is used to make finished products that are sold as dietary supplements. The variable, complex composition of GbE makes it difficult to obtain consistent toxicological assessments of potential risk. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) observed hepatotoxicity in its rodent studies of a commercially available, unfinished GbE product, but the application of these results to the broader GbE supplement market is unclear. Here, we use a combination of non-targeted and targeted chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods to obtain profiles of 24 commercially available finished GbE products and unfinished standardized and unstandardized extracts with and without hydrolysis, then used principal component analysis to group unfinished products according to their similarity to each other and to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard reference materials (SRM), and the finished products. Unfinished products were grouped into those that were characteristic and unchar-acteristic of standardized GbE. Our work demonstrates that different analytical approaches produced similar classifications of characteristic and uncharacteristic products in unhydrolyzed samples, but the distinctions largely disappeared once the samples were hydrolyzed. Using our approach, the NTP GbE was most similar to two unfinished GbE products classified as characteristic, finished products, and the NIST GbE SRM. We propose that a simple analysis for the presence, absence, or amounts of compounds unique to GbE in unhydrolyzed samples could be sufficient to determine asample’sauthenticity.