Tartaric acid induced conversion of protopanaxadiol to ginsenosides Rg sub(3) and Rg sub(5) and their in situ recoveries by integrated expanded bed adsorption chromatography

• Published in: Journal of separation science Vol. 39; no. 15; pp. 2995 - 3001
• Main Authors: Huang, Dan, Li, Yang, Zhang, Min, Ruan, Shengli, Zhang, Hongyang, Wang, Yuerong, Hu, Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.08.2016
• Subjects: Adsorption; Chromatography; Conversion; Conversion ratio; Herbs; Panax ginseng; Tartaric acid; Traditional chinese medicine
• DOI: 10.1002/jssc.201600269
• ISSN: 1615-9306

Panax ginseng has been applied in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years. It is still one of the most popular herbs in recent decades. The prescribed ginseng-containing medicines consist of protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol ginsenosides, which are the major constituents of the herb. Minor ginsenosides at low levels in the herb, such as Rg sub(3) and Rg sub(5), have attracted more rising attention than the major ones. The existing approaches to prepare Rg sub(3) and Rg sub(5) usually rely on either steamed red ginseng as the source or chemical/enzymatic conversion of protopanaxadiol to the targets. It is still highly desirable to effectively achieve such minor components. In this paper, a method integrated extraction of protopanaxadiol and conversion of it to Rg sub(3) and Rg sub(5) has been proposed. Protopanaxadiol was extracted and simultaneously converted to Rg sub(3) and Rg sub(5) by d,l-tartaric acid. The targets were absorbed by resins on expanded bed adsorption chromatography and were then separated from other ginsenosides in different stages. Compared with conventional methods, the developed process has advantages in shortening time consumption and improving the conversion ratio of protopanaxadiol, which is promising in directly achieving Rg sub(3) and Rg sub(5) from P. ginseng.