A novel strategy with standardized reference extract qualification and single compound quantitative evaluation for quality control of Panax notoginseng used as a functional food

•A fast method for analysis of saponins in Panax notoginseng was established on conventional HPLC instrument.•A quantitative estimation of multiple components by one marker without correction factors was proposed and applied.•An extract derived mixed saponins standard, as reference standard is low-cost and feasible to access.•A novel strategy suitable for quality control of functional foods was proposed and applied. Root of Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen (Sanqi in Chinese) is one of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) based functional food. Saponins are the major bioactive components. The shortage of reference compounds or chemical standards is one of the main bottlenecks for quality control of TCMs. A novel strategy, i.e. standardized reference extract based qualification and single calibrated components directly quantitative estimation of multiple analytes, was proposed to easily and effectively control the quality of natural functional foods such as Sanqi. The feasibility and credibility of this methodology were also assessed with a developed fast HPLC method. Five saponins, including ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rd and notoginsenoside R1 were rapidly separated using a conventional HPLC in 20min. The quantification method was also compared with individual calibration curve method. The strategy is feasible and credible, which is easily and effectively adapted for improving the quality control of natural functional foods such as Sanqi.