Simultaneous determination of triterpene saponins in ginseng drugs by high-performance liquid chromatography

A HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of 11 triterpene saponins with four-type aglycones (protopanaxadiol, protopanaxatriol, ocotillol and oleanolic acid types) in Ginseng drugs was developed and validated. Using a gradient of acetonitrile and 10 mM K-phosphate buffer (pH 5.80) as the mobile phase and UV detection at 196 nm, more than 18 ginsenosides with different aglycones were separated satisfactorily within 60 min. The detection limits (signal/noise≥3) were 0.1 μg for ginsenosides Rb₁, Rc, Rd, Re and Rg₁, chikusetsusaponin III, and notoginsenoside R₂, 0.2 μg for gisenoside Ro and chikusetsusaponin IVa, 0.3 μg for chikusetsusaponin IV, and 3 μg for majonoside R₂. The calibration curve of each saponin had a correlation coefficient close to 1. Intraand interday precisions were less than 2.1% (n=5) and 3.3% (n=15), respectively. The recovery rates of extraction were in the range of 96.4-102.7% for all ginsenosides. By adopting this method, the determinations of 11 ginsenosides in three Ginseng drugs derived from Panax ginseng, Panax vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus and Panax japonicus (Japan) were achieved.