Metabolomic evaluation of ginsenosides distribution in Panax genus (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius) using multivariate statistical analysis.

Ginseng is any one of the eleven species belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae and is found in North America and in eastern Asia. Ginseng is characterized by the presence of ginsenosides. Principally Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius are the adaptogenic herbs and are commonly distributed as health food markets. In the present study high performance liquid chromatography has been used to identify and quantify ginsenosides in the two subject species and the different parts of the plant (roots, neck, leaves, flowers, fruits). The power of this chromatographic technique to evaluate the identity of botanical material and to distinguishing different part of the plants has been investigated with metabolomic technique such as principal component analysis. Metabolomics provide a good opportunity for mining useful chemical information from the chromatographic data set resulting an important tool for quality evaluation of medicinal plants in the authenticity, consistency and efficacy.