LAUSR

BACKGROUND Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale) is a famous spice and medicinal plant that is widely used in the Egyptian market as a spice, flavor and medicinal herb for different diseases. Since it is not cultivated as rhizomes in Egypt. Ginger is imported from different countries, which may impedes its quality. In this study, UV spectroscopy and HPLC were applied as efficient available techniques for the discrimination and quality control of ginger collected from different geographical origins in combination with chemometrics. In addition, HPLC was applied for investigating the stability of ginger samples upon storage for three years to trace the changes in their main active constituents. RESULTS Data obtained from both UV and HPLC in combination with principle component analysis (PCA) displayed proper discrimination of the samples according to their geographical origins. Regarding the stability study, ginger samples showed significant decrease in their quality upon storage for long time, where significant variation in the main pungent principles (6-, 8, 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol) were observed. PCA failed to discriminate between ginger samples after long storage time, so the applied model could discriminate between ginger samples before and after storage. CONCLUSION UV and HPLC in combination with chemometrics can be applies as a successful tool for the study of quality, stability and geographical discrimination of ginger. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.