Fast Screening of Authentic Ginseng Products by Surface Desorption Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry was developed as a rapid online detection technology for the chemical fingerprints of ginseng products without any sample pretreatment. More than 20 ginsenosides were detected in the ginseng tissue and identified by their tandem mass spectrometry. Data were well matched with their reference compounds. Herein, surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry was first applied to study the nonvolatile compounds in ginseng. White and red ginseng have been successfully differentiated from their counterfeits using some ginsenosides as chemical markers. Ginsenoside can be used to differentiate between white ginseng, red ginseng, unboiled ginseng, and their counterfeits. Ginsenosides Ra1-3, Rb2-3, and Rc might be used to differentiate between white ginseng and boiled ginseng. Our result showed that surface desorption atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry not only could be used for fast screening authentic ginseng products but also might become a useful promising technique for the characterization of nonvolatile compounds in medicinal herbs to save researchers the laborious effort of sample pretreatment.