Metabonomic analysis of water extracts from Chinese and American ginsengs by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance: identification of chemical profile for quality control.

Background: With the gaining popularity of commercially prepared decoctions of herbal medicines on the market, an objective and efficient way to reveal the authenticity of such products is urgently needed. Previous attempts to use chromatographic or spectroscopic methods to identify ginseng samples made use of components derived from methanol extracts of the herb. It was not established that these herbs can be distinguished solely from consumable components, which are responsible for the clinical efficacy of the herb.