Effect-directed analysis of ginger (Zingiber officinale) and its food products, and quantification of bioactive compounds via high-performance thin-layer chromatography and mass spectrometry

Decision makers responsible for quality management along the food chain need to reflect on their analytical tools that should ensure quality of food and especially superfood. The 4ables in target analysis (stable, extractable, separable, detectable) focusing on marker compounds do not cover all relevant information about the sample. On the example of ginger, a streamlined quantitative bioprofiling was developed for effect-directed analysis of 17 commercially available ginger and ginger-containing products via high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC-UV/Vis/FLD-bioassay). The samples were investigated concerning their active profile as radical scavengers, antimicrobials, estrogen-like activators and acetylcholinesterase/tyrosinase inhibitors. The [ 6]gingerol and [6]-shogaol content of the different products ranged 0.2-7.4 mg/g and 0.2-3.0 mg/g, respectively. Further, multipotent compounds were discovered, characterized, and for example, assigned as [8]- and [10]gingerol via HPTLC-ESI-HRMS. The developed bioprofiling is a step forward to new analytical methods needed to inform on the true product quality influenced by cultivation, processing, and storage.