**3. A critical evaluation of the analytical procedures used in the extraction of ginsenosides**

Over the last decades, different extraction procedures were studied and have yielded different kinds and quantities of ginsenosides. A recent review has comprehensively compilated the different results obtained [11]. So far, the bulk of studies to far have focused on two Panax species (*P. ginseng* and *P. quinquefolius*) and a small number of ginsenosides (mainly the Rb and Rg type ginsenosides). Here, we combined the various processes utilized to extract these main ginsenosides from the roots of *P. ginseng* and *P. quinquefolius* so that we could compare the results and draw conclusions as well as future directions (**Table 1**).

This review of the literature found a wide range of variations in the ginsenoside extraction yields [from 1.0 [51] to 79.5 mg/g DW [36], with no extraction approach appearing to be ideal. However, given our previous observations on the variability of these ginsenoside contents (which varied greatly depending on the species, organs, growing season, and production location), and the fact that the majority of these studies did not use different types of starting material to eliminate these variabilities associated with this material, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from these data. Nevertheless, based on the critical analysis of **Table 1**, the following critical observations can be made:



*How Do Extraction Methods and Biotechnology Influence Our Understanding and Usages… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.103863*


*1* P. ginseng *and* P. quinquefolius*.*

*The relative concentrations of the widely investigated Rb and Rg ginsenosides were shown by the colors (blue = low, red = high, orange = detected but not quantified), and the resulting total ginsenosides content was given in the column "Total."*

#### **Table 1.**

*Variations in ginsenoside content were obtained using different extraction procedures from the two most frequently investigated Panax species [30–53].*

**Figure 2.**

*Diagrams showing different traditional and modern methods used for ginsenoside extraction.*

increased during extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide and a small addition of polar modifiers like methanol, ethanol or DMSO.

6. In the future, more *Panax* species and ginsenoside structures should be investigated, particularly utilizing modern tools and techniques. In this context, for those ginsenosides that accumulated in lower concentrations, cutting-edge techniques such as macroporous resins or, more interestingly, magnetic analogue-imprinted polymers with high capacity and selectivity have been highlighted [54], should be considered.
