Objective: To examine the saponins constituents in roots of Panax quinquefolium cultivated in China.
Method: The methanol extract from roots of P. quinquefolium cultivated in Jiling province of China was extracted by chloroform and n-butanol successively. Ten pure saponins were isolated from the n-butanol extract by silica gel and RP-8 reversed-phase column chromatography. Their structures were identified by means of spectral methods and compared with known compounds.
Result: Ten saponins were isolated from P. quinquefolium. They were identified as ginsenoside Rg1(2), Re(5), Rd(7), Rc(8), Rb1(9), Rb2(10), 24(R)-ginsenoside Rg3(3), 24(R)-pseudoginsenoside RT5(1), F11(4) and notoginsenoside K(6), respectively.
Conclusion: This work has elucidated the saponins constituents of P. quinquefolium cultivated in Jilin province of China and has shown that compound 1 was isolated from this plant for the first time.