Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 2022 Jul 28:e9363. Epub 2022 Jul 28.
College of Pharmaceutical Engineering of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine No.10 Poyanghu Road, West Tuanbo New Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin, P. R. China.
Rationale: Many methods have been reported to produce rare ginsenosides, including heat treatment, acid hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, and microbial transformation. However, the conversion of original ginsenosides to rare ginsenosides in the dual conditions of citric acid and high-pressure steam sterilization pot was rarely reported.
Methods: In this study, an UHPLC/IM-QTOF-MS method was developed for analysis of chemical transformation of PPT-type ginsenosides Rg , Re, PPD-type ginsenoside Rb and total ginsenosides in the dual conditions of citric acid and high-pressure steam sterilization pot. An internal ginsenoside database containing 126 known ginsenosides and 18 ginsenoside reference compounds was established to identify the transformation products and explore possible transformation pathways and mechanisms.
Results: A total of 54 ginsenosides have been preliminarily identified in the transformation products of PPD-type ginsenosides Rg , Re, PPD-type ginsenoside Rb and total ginsenosides, and the possible transformation pathways were as follows: Rg , Re→20(S)-Rh , 20(R)-Rh ; Rg , Re→20(S)-Rh , 20(R)-Rh →Rk , Rh , Rh ; Rb →gypenoside LXXV; Rb →20(S)-Rg , 20(R)-Rg →Rk , Rg ; Re→20(S)-Rg , 20(R)-Rg →20(S)-Rf , 20(R)-Rf , Rg , F .
Conclusions: The results elucidated the possible transformation pathways and mechanisms of ginsenosides in the dual conditions of citric acid and high-pressure steam sterilization pot, which was helpful to reveal the mechanisms of ginsenosides and enhanced safety and quality control of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Meanwhile, as a simple, efficient and practical method was developed for the production of rare ginsenosides, which has the potential to produce diverse rare ginsenosides on an industrial scale.