Discrimination between ginseng from Korea and China by light stable isotope analysis

Ginseng is a health food and traditional medicine highly valued in Asia Ginseng from certain origins is higher valued than from other origins so that a reliable method for differentiation of geographical origin is important for the economics of ginseng production To discriminate between ginseng samples from South Korea and PR China 29 samples have been analyzed for the isotopic composition of the elements H C and N The results showed delta H-2 values between -94 and -79 parts per thousand for delta C-13 -27 9 to -23 7 parts per thousand and for delta N-15 1 3-5 4 parts per thousand for Chinese ginseng Korean ginseng gave delta H-2 ratios between -91 and -69 parts per thousand delta C-13 ratios between -31 2 and -22 4 parts per thousand and delta N-15 ratios between -2 4 and +7%. Despite the overlap between the values for individual isotopes a combination of the isotope systems gave a reasonable differentiation between the two geographic origins Especially the statistically significant difference in delta H-2 ratios facilitated the differentiation between Korean and Chinese ginseng samples (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved