Abstract
A new HPLC-method for separation and quantitative determination of ginsenosides in Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolium and in pharmaceutical drug preparations is elaborated. A reversed-phase-system with ${\mu}Bondapak\;C_{18}$ column (3.9 mm $I.D.{\times}30\;cm$) using acetonitrile-water (30:70) 2 ml/min and acetonitrile-water (18:82) 4 ml/min is suitable for the base-line separation of $Rb_1,\;Rb_2,\;Rc,\;Rd,\;Rf,\;Rg_2,\;respectively\;Re,\;Rg_1$ in 30 minutes. The ginsenosides are directly detected at 203 nm (without derivatization) with the LC-55 or LC-75 spectrophotometer (Perkin-Elmer) at $100\%$ transmission. Detection limit is 300 ng at a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1. The ginsenosides-peak identification is carried out with HPTLC (high performance thin layer chromatography), with MIR-IR (multiple internal reflection-IR-spectros-copy) and with FD-MS (field desorption mass spectrometry). The calibration curve of each ginsenoside has a correlation coefficient very near to 1. Relative standard deviation for quantitative determinations depends upon the amount of ginsenosides and is approximately 1\%$ for ginsenoside contents of 1\%$. This method is adaptable for routine analysis in quality control laboratories.