Differentiation and identification of ginsenoside structural isomers by two-dimensional mass spectrometry combined with statistical analysis

Specific fractionation of ginsenosides based on activated carbon fibers and online fast screening of ginseng extract by mass spectrometry

Ginseng is beneficial in the prevention of many diseases and provides benefits for proper growth and development owing to the presence of various useful bioactive substances of diverse chemical heterogeneity (e.g., triterpenoid saponins, polysaccharides, volatile oils, and amino acids). As a result, understanding the therapeutic advantages of ginseng requires an in-depth compositional evaluation employing a simple and rapid analytical technique. In this work, three types of surface-activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were prepared by gas-phase oxidation, strong acid treatment, and Plasma treatment to obtain CO2-ACFs, acidified-ACFs, and plasma-ACFs, respectively. Three prepared ACFs were compared in terms of their physicochemical characterization (i.e., surface roughness and functional groups). A separation system was built using a column with modified ACFs, followed by mass spectrometry detection to investigate and determine substances of different polarities. Among the three columns, CO2-ACFs showed the optimum separation effect. 13 strong polar compounds (12 amino acids and1 oligosaccharide) and 15 lesser polar compounds (ginsenosides) were separated and identified successfully within 4 min in the ginseng sample. The data obtained by CO2-ACFs-TOF-MS/MS and UHPLC-TOF-MS/MS were compared. Our approach was found to be faster (4 min vs. 36 min) and greener, requiring much less solvent (1 mL vs. 10.8 mL), and power (0.06 vs. 0.6 kWh). The developed methodology can provide a faster, eco-friendly, and more reliable tool for the high-throughput screening of complex natural matrices and the simultaneous evaluation of several compounds in diverse samples.

Rare ginsenosides: A unique perspective of ginseng research

BACKGROUND

Rare ginsenosides (Rg3, Rh2, C-K, etc.) refer to a group of dammarane triterpenoids that exist in low natural abundance, mostly produced by deglycosylation or side chain modification via physicochemical processing or metabolic transformation in gut, and last but not least, exhibited potent biological activity comparing to the primary ginsenosides, which lead to a high concern in both the research and development of ginseng and ginsenoside-related nutraceutical and natural products. Nevertheless, a comprehensive review on these promising compounds is not available yet.

AIM OF REVIEW

In this review, recent advances of Rare ginsenosides (RGs) were summarized dealing with the structurally diverse characteristics, traditional usage, drug discovery situation, clinical application, pharmacological effects and the underlying mechanisms, structure-activity relationship, toxicity, the stereochemistry properties, and production strategies.

KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW

A total of 144 RGs with diverse skeletons and bioactivities were isolated from Panax species. RGs acted as natural ligands on some specific receptors, such as bile acid receptors, steroid hormone receptors, and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) receptors. The RGs showed promising bioactivities including immunoregulatory and adaptogen-like effect, anti-aging effect, anti-tumor effect, as well as their effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system, central nervous system, obesity and diabetes, and interaction with gut microbiota. Clinical trials indicated the potential of RGs, while high quality data remains inadequate, and no obvious side effects was found. The stereochemistry properties induced by deglycosylation at C (20) were also addressed including pharmacodynamics behaviors, together with the state-of-art analytical strategies for the identification of saponin stereoisomers. Finally, the batch preparation of targeted RGs by designated strategies including heating or acid/ alkaline-assisted processes, and enzymatic biotransformation and biosynthesis were discussed. Hopefully, the present review can provide more clues for the extensive understanding and future in-depth research and development of RGs, originated from the worldwide well recognized ginseng plants.

Strategy of combining offline 2D LC-MS with LC-DIA-MS/MS to accurately identify chemical compounds and for quality control of Dioscorea septemloba Thunb

INTRODUCTION

Dioscorea septemloba Thunb. (DST), the rhizome of Dioscorea spongiosa J. Q. Xi, M. Mizuno et W. L. Zhao or Fuzhou Dioscorea futschauensis Uline ex R. Kunth, has multiple biological activities.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to comprehensively characterize the chemical composition of DST and develop a quality control method.

METHODS

Based on a UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap-MS platform, we developed an offline 2D LC-MS method (HILIC×RPLC) to characterize the chemical constituents in the 75% ethanol extract of DST at first. Secondly, a data-independent acquisition mode (DIA) was further established to conduct rapid qualitative analysis of compounds in DST from different habitats. Then, six differential compounds were screened out and selected as quantitative markers by UPLC-QQQ-MS to evaluate the content of DST from different habitats.

RESULTS

In total, 137 compounds were identified in DST by combining offline 2D LC-MS with LC-DIA-MS/MS. Then, simultaneous targeted/non-targeted scanning technology was established based on the precursor ion list. Finally, six compounds, including dioscin, gracillin, pseduoprotodioscin, pseudoprotogracillin, protodioscin, and protogracillin, were accurately determined. The method validation showed a good linear relationship in the concentration range investigated (R² > 0.999). The average recovery ranged from 86% to 107.5%, and LOD and LOQ were between 0.01 and 0.40 μg·mL^-1 .

CONCLUSION

Our strategy integrating offline 2D LC-MS and the DIA mode could effectively separate and identify compounds from DST, indicating it can be used in subsequent compounds characterization studies. At the same time, the quality of DST was comprehensively and systematically evaluated.

Anticancer Activities of Ginsenosides, the Main Active Components of Ginseng

Cancer incidence rate has been increasing drastically in recent years. One of the many cancer treatment methods is chemotherapy. Traditional medicine, in the form of complementary and alternative therapy, is actively used to treat cancer, and many herbs and active ingredients of such therapies are being intensely studied to integrate them into modern medicine. Ginseng is traditionally used as a nourishing tonic and for treating various diseases in Asian countries. The therapeutic potential of ginseng in modern medicine has been studied extensively; the main bioactive component of ginseng is ginsenosides, which have gathered attention, particularly for their prospects in the treatment of fatal diseases such as cancer. Ginsenosides displayed their anticancer and antimetastatic properties not only via restricting cancer cell proliferation, viability, invasion, and migration but also by promoting apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and autophagy in several cancers, such as breast, brain, liver, gastric, and lung cancer. Additionally, ginsenosides can work synergistically with already existing cancer therapies. Thus, ginsenosides may be used alone or in combination with other pharmaceutical agents in new therapeutic strategies for cancer. To date however, there is little systematic summary available for the anticancer effects and therapeutic potential of ginsenosides. Therefore, we have reviewed and discussed all available literature in order to facilitate further research of ginsenosides in this manuscript.

Ginsenoside M1 Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits the Migration of Human Oral Cancer Cells

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 5.8% of all malignancies in Taiwan, and the incidence of OSCC is on the rise. OSCC is also a common malignancy worldwide, and the five-year survival rate remains poor. Therefore, new and effective treatments are needed to control OSCC. In the present study, we prepared ginsenoside M1 (20-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol), a major deglycosylated metabolite of ginsenoside, through the biotransformation of Panax notoginseng leaves by the fungus SP-LSL-002. We investigated the anti-OSCC activity and associated mechanisms of ginsenoside M1 in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated that ginsenoside M1 dose-dependently inhibited the viability of human OSCC SAS and OEC-M1 cells. To gain further insight into the mode of action of ginsenoside M1, we demonstrated that ginsenoside M1 increased the expression levels of Bak, Bad, and p53 and induced apoptotic DNA breaks, G1 phase arrest, PI/Annexin V double-positive staining, and caspase-3/9 activation. In addition, we demonstrated that ginsenoside M1 dose-dependently inhibited the colony formation and migration ability of SAS and OEC-M1 cells and reduced the expression of metastasis-related protein vimentin. Furthermore, oral administration or subcutaneous injection of ginsenoside M1 significantly reduced tumor growth in SAS xenograft mice. These results indicate that ginsenoside M1 can be translated into a potential therapeutic against OSCC.

Effect of red ginseng NaturalGEL on skin aging

Background

In aged skin, degradation of collagen fibers, which occupy the majority of the extracellular matrix in the dermis, and changes of aquaporin 3 (AQP3) and skin constituents, such as hyaluronic acid and ceramide, cause wrinkles and decrease skin moisturization to contribute to dryness and lower elasticity skin. Red ginseng (RG) is used as a cosmetic and food material and is known to protect from UVB-induced cell death, increase skin hydration, prevent wrinkles, and have an antioxidative effect. But, in general, RG used as a material is the soluble liquid portion in the solvent, and the part that is not soluble in the solvent is discarded. Thus, we made the whole RG into microgranulation and dispersed in water to produce gel form for using entire RG, and it was named red ginseng NaturalGEL (RG NGEL).

Methods

RG NGEL was investigated for matrix metalloproteinases inhibitory activity, induction of Type I collagen, AQP3, hyaluronan synthetase 2, serine palmitoyl transferase, ceramide synthase 3, and filaggrin expression and compared with RG water extract.

Results

RG NGEL reduced the levels of UV-induced matrix metalloproteinases and increased Type I collagen in human fibroblast cells and upregulated AQP3, hyaluronan synthetase 2, serine palmitoyl transferase, ceramide synthase 3, and filaggrin expressions in human keratinocytes compared with RG water extract.

Conclusion

RG NGEL has the potential as an effective reagent for antiaging cosmetics to improve wrinkle formation and skin hydration.