| Abstract
| - Despite the wide availability of liquid herbal extracts using mixtures of alcohol, glycerin, and water,or glycerin and water as solvents, no data on the chemical composition of such extracts is readilyavailable. In this study, the amount and the stability of the major saponins in Panax quinquefoliusroot extracts, made either with 50% (v/v) aqueous ethanol, a mixture (v/v/v) of 20% ethanol, 40%glycerin, and 40% water, or with 65% (v/v) aqueous glycerin, were evaluated by HPLC-UV analysis.The amount of total saponins was highest in the 50% aqueous ethanol extract (61.7 ± 0.1 mg/g dryroot), although similar to the ethanol−glycerin−water extract (59.4 ± 0.5 mg/g dry root). Saponinswere significantly lower in the 65% aqueous glycerin extract (51.5 ± 0.2 mg/g dry root). Interestingly,the amounts of individual saponins were quite variable depending on the solvent. This is in part dueto enzymatic cleavage of ginsenosides in the glycerin containing extracts during the macerationprocess. Storage of the extracts at 25 °C over the period of a year led to a 13−15% loss of saponinswith all three types of extractions. Keywords: Panax quinquefolius; saponins; extraction efficiency; stability; enzymatic degradation;HPLC-UV/MS/MS
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