Quality evaluation of different products derived from Ganoderma

Quality assessment of commercial products derived from Lingzhi was performed based on both their small (triterpenes) and macro (polysaccharides) molecular bioactive components by using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography-evaporative light scattering detector (HPSEC-ELSD). Enzyme (α-amylase) digestion was employed for avoiding the interference, induced by starch added in formula preparation, on the analysis of polysaccharides during HPSEC-ELSD analysis. The results showed the quality variation among Lingzhi products were obvious. The developed method is simple, rapid, reliable and suitable for evaluation of quality of Lingzhi and their products.   Key words: Ganoderma, polysaccharides, triterpenes, high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC