Differentiation of Isomeric Ginsenosides by Using Electron-Induced Dissociation Mass Spectrometry

Current phytochemical research on ginsengs focuses on the structural characterization and isomer differentiation of ginsenosides. In this Letter, electron-induced dissociation (EID) was initially investigated by analyzing isomeric ginsenosides. EID provided more structural information on their differentiation than collision-induced dissociation (CID) did. Glycosyl group migration previously observed in the CID of oligosaccharide ions could also be found in the EID of protonated Rg₁. This rearrangement reaction would show substantial ambiguities in differentiating Rg₁ from Rf. Although other charge carriers could alleviate this problem, the use of EID in dissociating deprotonated ginsenoside ions was superior to other techniques in terms of eliminating glycosyl group migration and generating diagnostic fragment ions for the differentiation of structural isomers. This study demonstrates a potential method to analyze natural products and thus help discover and evaluate novel compounds.