Objective

To investigate the change in color and contents of three commonly seen ginsenosides Rg

1

Re and Rb

1

of

Hongshen

(Red Ginseng

Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng Rubra

) at different steaming durations and provide reference for revising the standard for determination of ginsenosides in

Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China

(hereinafter referred to as the

Chinese Pharmacopoeia

).

Methods

Renshen

(Ginseng

Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng

) and

Hongshen

(steamed for different durations) were grounded into powder

the color of which were measured with colorimeter. The contents of ginsenosides Rg

1

Re and Rb

1

in the samples were determined with the method listed in the part of content determination of

Hongshen

in the

Chinese Pharmacopoeia

(ChP2015). The results were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 software.

Results

The results showed that with the increase in steaming time

the color luminance value L and the total color difference value

E

of

Hongshen

powder decreased gradually

while the chromaticity values a and b increased gradually. Meanwhile

the contents of ginsenosides Rg

1

and Re demonstrated no significant change. However

the content of ginsenoside Rb

1

increased gradually and there was significant difference in this regard between

Hongshen

steamed for 2 hours and

Renshen

(

P

<

0.05).

Conclusion

As the steaming time increases

the color of

Hongshen

powder deepened gradually and the content of ginsenoside Rb

1

increased significantly. Therefore

it is suggested to raise the content standard of ginsenoside Rb

1

in

Hongshen

in

Chinese Pharmacopoeia

.