Studies on the Components of Korean Panax Ginseng C.A. Mayer -Part. I On the Content of Starch, Size Frequency Distribution of Starch Granules, Amylose Content and Blue Value-

한국인삼 성분에 관한 연구 -제1보 전분함량, 전분의 입경분포, amylose함량 및 blue value에 대하여-

The variation of the amount of starch, size and shape of the starch granules, amylose content, and blue value of the starch in the Korean ginseng roots from one year old to five year old cultivated at Kumsan was studied. The results obtained were as follows; 1) The starch content of the ginseng root(dried) was increased with the age of the root; that is, 9.62% for one-year-old roots, 10.35% for two-year-old root, 15.50% for three-year-old root, 17.05% for four-year-old root, and 18.32% for five-year-old root. 2) The shape of the ginseng starch granules was round or short oval, and in the latter case the ratio of minor axis to major axis was 1 to 1.1. Diameter of the starch granules was in the range of $1.48\;{\mu}\;to\;8.14\;{\mu}$ and the most frequent granule size was $3\;{\mu}\;(32.1{\sim}35.7%)$. The number of big size starch granules was increased during the five years of growing, while, the number of small size granules was decreased. 3) The amylose content in the ginseng starch was varied with the age of the root, in the range of $53.6{\sim}70.5%$. 4. The blue value of the ginseng starch was in the range of 0.60 to 0.71.