Localization of ginsenosides in the rhizome and root of Panax ginseng by laser microdissection and liquid chromatography–quadrupole/time of flight-mass spectrometry

• Tissue-specific metabolite profiles from various medicinal parts of ginseng.
• The study presents a valuable sample preparation scheme by laser microdissection.
• Tissue-specific metabolite profiling correlates morphology with quality of ginseng.

The root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C.A. Mey, known as ginseng, is a commonly used medicinal plant. Ginsenosides are the major active components responsible for the tonic effects of this herb. Here, the combination of laser microdissection and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole/time of flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) was applied to investigate the localization of ginsenosides in root and rhizome of P. ginseng. Five kinds of tissue cells were separated from the rhizome, main root and branch root of ginseng. Fifty-nine ginsenosides were identified and the results showed that the cork contained more kinds of ginsenosides than did the cortex, phloem, xylem and resin canals. It is interesting that the phloem, xylem and resin canals from branch root contained a greater number of ginsenosides than did from main root. This study provides solid evidence on the accumulation of ginsenosides in cork, cortex, phloem and xylem.

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