Effect of Sulfur Fumigation on Content of Chemical Constituents in Panacis Quinquefolii Radix and Preliminary Study on Its Identification Method / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective: To elucidate the effect of sulfur fumigation on the content of chemical composition and quality of Panacis Quinquefolii Radix, and to discuss the identification method of sulfur fumigated Panacis Quinquefolii Radix. Method: The content changes of ginsenoside Rb1, Re, Rg1 in Panacis Quinquefolii Radix were determined by HPLC-DAD before and after sulfur fumigation. The content changes of 11 inorganic elements in Panacis Quinquefolii Radix before and after sulfur fumigation were detected by microwave digestion method and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The quality difference of Panacis Quinquefolii Radix before and after sulfur fumigation was qualitatively distinguished combined with the principal component analysis. Result: Three ginsenosides were well separated and showed good linearity with R2 ≥ 0.999.Before sulfur fumigation, the contents of ginsenoside Rg1, Re and Rb1 in Panacis Quinquefolii Radix were (0.897±0.045), (13.092±0.639), (12.896±0.430) g ·kg-1, respectively. After sulfur fumigation, the contents of these three components in Panacis Quinquefolii Radix were (0.807±0.032), (11.968±0.627), (11.752±0.696) g ·kg-1, respectively. After fumigation, the contents of inorganic elements (Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Sb, Pb and Fe) from Panacis Quinquefolii Radix increased in varying degrees. According to the distribution results of three-dimensional (3D) scattered points, sulfur and non-sulfur fumigation products of Panacis Quinquefolii Radix could be effectively distinguished. Conclusion: After sulfur fumigation, the contents of ginsenoside Re and Rb1 in Panacis Quinquefolii Radix decrease significantly, but the contents of 11 inorganic elements increase, suggesting that sulfur fumigation may have a great influence on the quality of Panacis Quinquefolii Radix.