Characterization and assessment of antioxidant activity of some phenolic extracts of ginseng roots (Panax ginseng)

Abstract

Despite of wide use of ginseng products in customary medication over hundreds of years, yet, the clinical medication is inconclusive with regards to its clinical credence nor is it supported by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a prescriptive medication. Ongoing researches showed that ginseng products might be contaminated with poisonous metals or other filler mixtures, and its excessive use might contribute to some unexpected side effects or untoward interaction with prescriptive medication. Phenolic compounds (phenols and flavonoids) are extracted from the roots of Chinese ginseng plant (Panax ginseng) using organic solvents i.e. hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and methanol. Their amounts, efficacy for binding the ferrous ion, antioxidant activity in reducing power, and their ability to bind iron over the rest of the extracts have demonstrated the elevated 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical, ferrous ion chelating and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities. Using gas chromatography-absorption spectroscopy (GC-AS) technique, a few phenolic compounds were diagnosed e.g., 9, 10-Secocholesta-5; 7,10(19)-triene-3; 25, 26-triol, [3-beta, 5Z, 7E]; the [7R, 10R]-1,5-Endoperoxy-2-hydroper oxycarota-1,4-dien-14-al) to have the highest concentration among 10 other diagnosed compounds. The impact of antioxidant activity of a few phenolic compounds extracted from ginseng roots (P. ginseng) is attributed to the potency of ginseng product in inhibiting the oxidative activities of radicals in protecting the cell membrane components from damage. Further biochemical assessment are required to purify these extracts and to assess their pharmacological and therapeutic applications.