Determination of ginsenosides in Asian and American ginsengs by liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS: assessing variations based on morphological characteristics

An approach using ultra-HPLC-quadrupole/time-of-flight MS was successfully established to link morphology and active components for evaluating the quality of Asian and American ginsengs. Clear correlation between visible morphological features and quality of Asian and American ginsengs was found. People can see the difference; this means consumers and vendors can evaluate ginseng by themselves.