Optimization and comparison of fingerprints of triterpenoids from Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma sinense

By optimizing the experimental conditions of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a method of fingerprint analysis of Glossy ganoderma was presented and a common mode of the fingerprints of Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma sinense was proposed, which were both initially used to estimate the quality difference. The HPLC conditions were optimized as: acetonitrile-2% acetic acid solution (gradient elution) as a mobile phase, a detection wavelength of 252 nm, a flow rate of 1 mL/min and a column temperature of 35°C. In the optimal conditions, 29 common peaks were separated from 14 batches of Ganoderma lucidum and 7 batches of Ganoderma sinense, and three compositions (ganoderic acids A, C2, G) were identified. The results indicate that the peak of ganoderic acid A is of the strongest intensity; and that although the relative ratio of common peaks of Ganoderma lucidum is close to that of Ganoderma sinense, the peak area per unit medicine of Ganoderma sinense is only about 5%~10% of that of Ganoderma lucidum, which means that the quality evaluation of the products from Glossy gano-derma should combine both the HPLC fingerprint and the content determination. Moreover, according to the fingerprints of triterpenoids from Glossy ganoderma obtained by the optimized method, it is found that the Ganoderma lucidum contains much more triterpenoid compositions than what is reported in the literature, and that the triterpenoids in Ganoderma sinense can be easily detected. It is, thus, concluded that the proposed method is reliable, accurate and reproducible.