Fatty Acid Composition of Seeds From Wild and Cultivated Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer): Occurrence of a High Level of Petroselinic Acid

The lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of seeds from the Asian ginseng Panax ginseng growing naturally in taiga forests of the Russian Far East and seeds from cultivated ginseng were studied in this work. The total lipid content of seeds from both wild and cultivated plants was 9-12 % of fresh weight. FA were analyzed as isopropyl esters on a polar capillary column BD-225, which allows good separation of petroselinic and oleic acids. The structure of FAs was confirmed using GC-MS of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives. In all the seed samples, the major FA was petroselinic acid 18:1(n-12) which comprised more than 60 %; the contents of oleic and linoleic acids were lower (15-17 and 15-16 %, respectively). Earlier, a higher level (> 80 %) of oleic acid had been reported for ginseng seeds. This discrepancy can be explained by an insufficient separation of these acids on standard columns used for GC of FAME. In general, seeds of wild and cultivated ginseng are very similar in lipid content and FA composition.