Ginsenoside and phenolic compounds in hydromethanolic extracts of American ginseng cell cultures and their antioxidant properties

Abstract

The present study was performed to investigate the antioxidant properties of callus and suspension culture extracts of <em>Panax quinquefolium</em> (American ginseng). The ginsenoside content and the total phenolic content (TPC) in these cultures were also examined. The total amount of the nine studied saponins was found to be 2.08, 1.69, and 0.202 mg g⁻¹ dry weight in red callus line (RCL), green callus line (GCL), and suspension cultures, respectively, by HPLC analysis. The TPC was estimated using the Folin–Ciocalteu method. The TPC of the suspension culture extracts was approximately 36.7% and 17.6% higher than that of the RCL and GCL, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using the in vitro ABTS [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)] and FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) assays; the methanolic <em>P. quinquefolium</em> suspension culture extracts demonstrated stronger antioxidant activity than that of the callus cultures.