American ginseng. II. Analysis of ginsenosides and their sapogenins in biological fluids.

A gas-liquid chromatography (tlc) method was developed to assay individual ginsenosides and sapogenins in rabbit plasma and urine samples. A flavonoid, panasenoside, and a sterol, stigmasterol, were used as internal standards for ginsenosides and their sapogenins, respectively. Linear relationships of peak height ratio to weight ratio were obtained for ginsenosides (A1, 20-350 microgram; A2, 20-400 microgram; B2, 20-300 microgram; C, 20-500 microgram), and sapogenins (panaxadiol or panaxatriol, 10-200 microgram) in 0.1 ml of the silylation mixture. The glc assay method developed was sensitive to 0.2 microgram of ginsenosides and 0.1 microgram of sapogenins.