• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.413-420
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• 2020

We studied the effects of the extract of aerial parts of hydroponically cultured ginseng (HGE) on alcohol-induced liver damage (AILD) in mice. AILD was induced by the oral administration of ethanol (EtOH) (25%; 5 g/kg body weight) for seven days in the study as well as EtOH-only groups. However, HGE (4 and 12 mg/kg) was orally administered (once daily for ten consecutive days) only to the study group, three days prior to the EtOH treatment. The HGE-treated group showed significantly lower levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase than the EtOH-only group. In addition, HGE administration decreased the level of serum lactate dehydrogenase, a known marker of liver damage. The effect of HGE on AILD was found to be dose dependent, and the consecutive administration of HGE showed no side effects in mice. Our study indicates that HGE treatment can potentially reduce oxidative stress and toxicity in the liver of alcohol-treated mice and that HGE can be a useful therapeutic agent for alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity. Additionally, a simple and efficient high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection method was developed for determining the contents of four major ginsenosides in HGE. The aerial parts of hydroponically cultured ginseng were extracted using 70% fermented ethanol, and the contents of ginsenosides F5, F3, F1, and F2 in HGE were found to be 2.5, 4.4, 1.4, and 23.3 mg/g, respectively.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.253-261
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• 2021

In this study, the ginseng sprout has produced through smart farm was classified according to its size and divided into above-ground (AG) and below-ground (BG) parts to compare ginsenoside contents and antioxidant activity. In the case of the AG part, the total phenolic contents were the highest at 5.16 mg/g in medium (M) size and the lowest at 2.23 mg/g in largest (L) size. The BG part also showed the highest content in the M size, but there was no significant difference. Also, the total flavonoid contents were also high in the M size in both the AG (5.16 mg/g) and BG (1.28 mg/g) parts. The major ginsenosides in the AG part were Re (20.33-24.15 mg/g) > Rd (11.36-27.42 mg/g) > Rg1 (4.48-5.54 mg/g) and the main ginsenosides in the BG part were Rb1 (5.09-8.61 mg/g) > Re (4.48-5.54 mg/g) > Rc (3.11-4.11 mg/g) in orders. In the case of M size, Re and Rd were approximately 4- and 19-folds higher at 24.15 mg/g and at 27.42 mg/g in the AG part and 5.20 mg/g and 1.43 mg in the BG part, respectively. In addition, F3 and Rh1 were detected in the AG part, but not in the BG part. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (74.95%), 2,4,6-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphnoic acid) diammonium salt (94.47%), and hydroxyl (70.39%) radical scavenging activities and FRAP (2.169) assay were the highest in M size than other sizes.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2022

This study was conducted to determine the changes in ginsenosides content according to additional UV-A, and UV-B LED irradiation before harvesting the ginseng sprouts. One-year-old ginseng seedlings (n=100) were transplanted in a tray containing a ginseng medium. The ginseng sprouts were grown for 37 days at a temperature of 20℃ (24h), a humidity of 70%, and an average light intensity of 80 µmol·m^-2·s^-1 (photoperiod; 24h) in a container-type plant factory. Ginseng sprouts were then transferred to a custom chamber equipped with UV-A (370 nm; 12.90 W·m^-2) and UV-B (300 nm; 0.31 W·m^-2) LEDs and treated for 3 days. Growth parameters and ginsenoside contents in shoot and root were conducted by harvesting on days 0 (control), 1, 2, and 3 of UV treatments, respectively. The growth parameters showed non-significant differences between the control and the UV treatments (wavelengths or the number of days). Ginsenoside contents of the shoot was highly improved by 186% in UV-A treatment compared to the control in 3 days of the treatment time. The ginsenoside contents of the roots was more improved in UV-A 1-day treatment and UV-B 3-day treatment, compared to the control by 171% and 160%, respectively. As a result of this experiment, it is thought that UV LED irradiation before harvesting can produce sprout ginseng with high ginsenoside contents in a plant factory.