Studies on the interactions between ginsenosides and liposome by equilibrium dialysis combined with ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

To study the interactions between components of Panax Ginseng and liposome biomembrane, we applied the equilibrium dialysis system combined with ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) approach to analyze and identify the bioactive components of ginseng. Moreover, the effect of pH value has also been investigated on their interactions between the ginsenosides of ginseng extract and biomembrane. The result shows that seven kinds of ginsenosides have obvious interactions with biomembrane in comparison with the standards in terms of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) data along with retention time, including four panaxadiol ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd) and three panaxatriol ginsenosides (Re, Rf, Rg2). The value of binding degree decreased with the increase of molecular weight. The sugar moieties which are attached to C-20 were the main factor affecting the binding degree of panaxadiol ginsenosides. The interactions between panaxadiol ginsenosides and biomembrane correlate to the type and number of sugar moieties in ginsenosides. The sugar moieties which are at C-6 and C-20 have been shown to influence the value of binding degree for panaxatriol ginsenosides. In addition, the pH value has been shown to have an impact on the interactions. Overall, ginsenoside Rd has a better absorption character among the seven ginsenosides. In the study, we have screened the potential bioactive components of ginseng in vitro using the equilibrium dialysis-UPLC-MS/MS method, and then predicted the potential bioactivities of ginseng, which contribute to the investigation of the efficacy of ginseng.

► A sensitive method for analysis of bioactives of ginseng is proposed.
► Method combined equilibrium dialysis and UPLC-MS/MS.
► The study of the interactions between ginseng and liposome is firstly reported.
► The method offers a theoretical direction of potential bioactivities in ginseng.