Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop a new preparation process of ginseng extract using high concentrations of ginsenoside $Rg_3$, a special component in red ginseng. From when the ginseng saponin glycosides transformed into the prosapogenins chemically, they were analyzed using the HPLC method. The ginseng and ginseng extract were processed with several treatment conditions of an edible brewing vinegar. The results indicated that ginsenoside $Rg_3$ quantities increased over 4% at the pH 2-4 level of vinegar treatment. This occurred at temperatures above $R90^{\circ}C$, but not occurred at other pH and temperature condition. In addition, the ginseng and ginseng extract were processed with the twice-brewed vinegar (about 14% acidity). This produced about 1.5 times more ginsenoside $Rg_3$ than those processed with regular amounts of brewing vinegar (about 7% acidity) and persimmon vinegar (about 3% acidity). Though the white ginseng extract was processed with the brewing vinegar over four hr, there was no change for ginsenoside $Rg_3$. However, the VG8-7 was the highest amount of ginsenoside $Rg_3$ (4.71%) in the white ginseng extract, which was processed with the twice-brewed vinegar for nine hr. These results indicate that ginseng treated with vinegar had 10 times the quantity of ginsenoside $Rg_3$, compared to the amount of ginsenoside $Rg_3$ in the generally commercial red ginseng, while ginsenoside $Rg_3$ was not found in raw and white ginseng.