Determination of polyacetylenes and ginsenosides in Panax species using high performance liquid chromatography

A new HPLC method was developed to separate and identify three polyacetylenes (panaxynol, panaxydol and 1,8-heptadecadiene-4,6-diyne-3,10-diol) found in Panax species. The mobile phase was a linear gradient of 2:1:3 to 2:1:1 (v/v/v) methanol/acetonitrile/water in 40 min. HPLC analysis was performed at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min with UV detection at 254 nm. The contents of the polyacetylenes and ginsenosides in Panax ginseng (white ginseng and red ginseng), R quinquefolium, R japonicus, and P. noteginseng were determined using these methods. The species containing the highest polyacetylene content (0.080%) was R quinquefolium cultivated in Nagano, Japan. Meanwhile, the species with the highest ginsenoside content (9.176%) was P noteginseng cultivated in Yunnan, China.