Phytosterol Content in American Ginseng Seed Oil

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Abstract
North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) oil was saponifed and the unsaponifiable matter trimethylsilylated. The phytosterol fraction of hexane-extracted, air-dried seed was quantified and identified by GC and GC-MS. Phytosterol contents (milligrams per 100 g of oil) were as follows: squalene (514−569), oxidosqualene (8.97−48.2), campesterol (9.96−12.4), stigmasterol (93.2−113), clerosterol (1.91−2.14), β-sitosterol (153−186), β-amyrin (11.7−19.5), Δ5-avenasterol (12.4−20.5), Δ5,24(25)-stigmasterol (3.70−4.76), lupeol (14.4−15.2), Δ7-sitosterol (12.5−14.6), Δ7-avenasterol (4.11−8.09), 24-methylenecycloartanol (1.94−4.76), and citrostadienol (2.50−3.81). Seed stratification lowered the phytosterol levels. Oven-drying gave mixed results, and phytosterols varied slightly between the 1999 and 2000 harvests. Keywords: Phytosterol; triterpene alcohol; Panax quinquefolium; ginseng seed soil; fatty acid methyl ester