Proteomic Analysis of Ginseng

Ginseng is a herb commonly used in the formulation of tonics and there are two major varieties: Oriental and American ginsengs. Traditional means of authenticating ginsengs are hardly reliable as they are being processed into various forms, and ginseng products are also sometimes adulterated. In this study, ginseng proteins were separated using a 12% polyacrylamide gel with a three-step electrophoresis: 18 mA for 15 mins, 24 mA for 30 mins and 34 mA for 30 mins. Five bands were identified as potential markers for differentiating between the two species. Oriental and American ginsengs each possessed two unique bands at ~29.98plusmn1.11 kDa and ~46.87plusmn2.02 kDa, and ~12.94plusmn0.65 kDa and ~44.63plusmn1.22 kDa respectively. Oriental ginseng also displayed a darker band at ~34.40plusmn0.79 kDa. SDS-PAGE can be employed as a potential technique for the authentication of ginseng proteins.