Chemical differentiation of two taste variants of Gynostemma pentaphyllum by using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and HPLC-ELSD.

To differentiate the sweet and bitter taste variants of a Chinese medicinal tea Gynostemma pentaphyllum (GP), a method for the quantitative analysis of ginsenosides Rb(1), Rb(3), Rd, and F(2) in GP by using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was developed. According to the different contents of the four ginsenosides, chemical differentiation of the two taste variants of GP was achieved by principal component analysis (PCA). A supplementary quantitative analysis method of using HPLC-ELSD for determination of 20(S)-panaxadiol in the hydrolysates of GP was also developed.