Analysis methods of ginsenosides

Ginsenosides are considered the main active principles of the famous Chinese traditional medicine "ginseng". For more than 30 years many researchers developed methods for the identification and quantification of ginsenosides in ginseng plant material, extracts and products. Separation of ginsenosides has been achieved using thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among these techniques HPLC is by far the most employed. Ultraviolet (UV), evaporative light scattering (ELSD), fluorescence and, recently, mass spectrometry (MS) were coupled with HPLC for the detection of ginsenosides. The most recent methods are here discussed together with a critical evaluation of the published results. Furthermore new techniques such as near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and enzyme immunosassay (EIA) recently used for the determination of ginsenosides will be discussed.