Ginseng is an herbal medication derived from the root of the Panax genus of plants. It has been used for several thousands of years throughout the world and its purported medicinal properties are well documented. Ginsenosides are the active ingredients found in ginseng and ginseng extracts. More than 20 have been isolated.

Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) systems are ideal for fast, reliable extraction of ginsenosides from ginseng and ginseng-containing dietary supplements.

ASE delivers quantitative extraction of food components and contaminants and saves time, solvent, and labor.

Three important characteristics of Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) systems.

This diagram details the steps in a typical ASE system extraction. The sample is first ground and mixed with a dispersing agent, such as hydromatrix. Next, a weighed portion is placed in a stainless steel extraction cell. The extraction cell is automatically loaded into the ASE oven, where it reaches its pre-determined temperature. Next, the static valve is  opened and solvent is pumped into the cell, filling it, then overfilling it; the excess quantity is routed to the collection vial. Once this occurs, the collection valve is closed. The high pressure pump continues to fill the cell with solvent until the target pressure of 1500 p.s.i. is achieved. Next, a static extraction period continues for a preselected period of time (in this case, 5 min). The static valve is then opened and the cell is flushed with fresh solvent. At this point, the static valve can be closed again and a second, or even third, static extraction can be performed. The static valve is opened a final time and the cell is flushed with solvent, then nitrogen to complete the extraction. Using this method, a sample can be extracted with solvent well above its atmospheric pressure boiling point, while keeping the solvent in the liquid form, enabling Accelerated Solvent Extraction systems to perform complex extractions using a fraction of the time, materials, and energy of conventional extraction techniques.

The above are optimum conditions for extracting marker compounds from ginseng. This extraction required only 10 min and  used only 12 mL of solvent.

This table above compares extraction with an ASE system versus sonication. The ASE system extracts a greater quantity of the ginsenosides in the same amount of time as sonication. The ASE extraction is completely automated and delivers a filtered extract to the receiving vial, ready for final volume adjustment and analysis. The sonication extraction requires an additional filtration step before analysis can be made.