Discrimination of Ginseng Habitat by Using Instrumental Analysis Techniques

In order to screen out indicators for the discrimination of ginseng habitat, some physical and chemical characteristics of Korean red ginsengs (94 kinds) and Chinese red ginsengs (50 kinds) were analyzed by using a rheometer, an electronic nose system, a combined technique of solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) and gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector (GC/ECD), an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP/MS), a near infrared spectrometer (NIRs) and high performance liquid chromatography equipped with evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC/ELSD). The results are summarized as follows: (i) The rhizome strengths of Korean red ginsengs were significantly higher than those of Chinese red ginsengs. (ii) The electronic nose patterns of Korean red ginsengs were significantly different from those of Chinese red ginsengs. (iii) Some unidentified peaks were detected not in the headspace of Korean red ginsengs but in the headspace of Chinese red ginsengs when the headspace volatiles prepared by the SPME technique were analyzed by GC/ECD. (iv) Either the content ratios of K to Ca or Mn to Fe were significantly different between Korean red ginsengs and Chinese red ginsengs. (v) The reflectance ratios of NIRs wavenumbers such as $904\;cm^{-1}\;to\;1088\;cm^{-1}$ for Korean red ginsengs were significantly different from those for Chinese red ginsengs. (vi) The content ratios of ginsenoside-Rg to ginsenoside-Re of Korean red ginsengs were significantly higher than those of Chinese red ginsengs. These results indicate that the rhizome strength, the electronic nose pattern, the occurrence of ECD-sensitive headspace volatile components, the content ratios of K to Ca and Mn to Fe, the NIRs pattern and the content ratio of ginsenoside-Rg to -Re may be indicators for the discrimination of ginseng habitat.