Abstract
Two major and two minor polyacetylenes were isolated from fresh white Korean ginseng roots. The petroleum ether-ethyl ether fractions containing the polyacetylene compounds were collected through solvent fractionation, partition and silica gel column chromatography. Further separation of polyacetylenic fractions was proceeded by bonded normal phase HPLC utilizing a moderately nonpolar microparticulate column. The low pressure liquid chromatography was used for the semi-preparative separation. The chemical structures of the two major polyacetylenes separated were determined by UV, IR, $^1H$ NMR, $^{13}C$ NMR, mass spectra and elemental analysis. One of them is identified to be heptadeca-1-en-4, 6-diyne-3, 9, 10-triol, a new structure, and the other is heptadeca-1, 9-dien-4, 6-diyn-3-ol, known as panaxynol.