Studies of the Characteristic Constituents of Chinese Ginseng and American Ginseng

Usual Chinese ginseng or ginseng is the name given to the root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer while American ginseng is the root of Panax quinquefolium L. In the past, a lot of papers with regard to the chemical constituents of ginseng and American ginseng were published (1-3) and HPLC was regarded as the best method to quantitatively determine the content of monomeric ginsenosides (4-6). Owing to resemblances of their appearance and chemical constituents, particularly ginsenosides which are the chief active components in both of them, it is difficult to distinguish between them, especially in their preparations. However, their pharmacological actions are not all identical with each other. Therefore, it is important to look for a convenient method to differentiate them. Although some methods have been established such as microscopy identification (7), isozyme electrogram (8), IR spectra and florescence spectrum methods (9, 10), they are incapable of distinguishing ginseng from American ginseng in preparations.