A new two-dimensional chromatographic method for separation of saponins from steamed Panax notoginseng

The root and rhizome of Panax notoginseng (PNG) are used as folk medicine. Recent studies have reported PNG to possess immunomodulatory, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic and anticancer activities among a host of other pharmacological effects. The main active constituents responsible for these pharmacological effects are saponins. It has also been proven that the chemical constituents of steamed PNG differs from the raw form. Traditional methods of separating individual components in crude extracts are usually tedious, almost irreproducible and time-consuming. In this study, an automated multi-step preparative separation system, known as Sepbox afforded a quick, reproducible and fast separation of saponins from PNG. With Sepbox, a total of 11 saponins of high purity were obtained in a short period of time. The separated compounds were identified as notoginsenosides R1, T5, ginsenosides Rb1, Rg1, Rg2, Rh1, Rh4, Rd, 20 (S) -Rg3 and a mixture of ginsenosides Rk1 and Rg5.