Comparative HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds in the roots of Acanthopanax trifoliatus and acanthopanaxsenticosus

Abstract

Root samples of Acanthopanax trifoliatus (AT) and Acanthopanax senticosus or Siberian ginseng (AS) were investigated for phenolic compounds by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The roots of AT were collected from 3 different locations in Thailand: Chiang Mai, NakhonRatchasima, and Pathum Thani. The roots of AS were supplied as a crude drug from China and as standard material from France. The root extracts of two Acanthopanax species were prepared by aqueous decoction and refluxing with 75% ethanol. Qualitative analysis by HPLC revealed that the main constituents in root samples were caffeoylquinic acid derivatives including chlorogenic acid, cynarin, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 1,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid. Aqueous and 75% ethanolic root extracts from AT collected from NakhonRatchasima contained higher active constituents than those collected from other locations. The phenolic contents were 4.80±0.02 and 8.94±0.03 g 100 -1 of extract, respectively. These levels were similar to the phenolic contents in the aqueous and 75% ethanolic extracts of standard AS roots from France which were 4.97±0.14 and 11.63±0.08 g 100 g-1 extract, respectively. Extracts obtained by refluxing with 75% ethanol contained higher active constituents than extracts obtained from the decoction. The results suggest that the root extracts from AT collected from NakhonRatchasima exhibit both qualitative and quantitative similarities to the phytochemical character of the root extracts from AS.