• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2011

Panax ginseng root has been used as a major source of ginsenoside throughout the history of oriental medicine. In recent years, scientists have found that all of its biomass, including embryogenic calli and flower buds can contain similar active ingredients with pharmacological functions. In this study, transcriptome analyses were used to identify different gene expressions from embryogenic calli and fl ower buds. In total, 6,226 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained from cDNA libraries of P. ginseng. Insilico analysis was conducted to annotate the putative sequences using gene ontology functional analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes orthology biochemical analysis, and interproscan protein functional domain analysis. From the obtained results, genes responsible for growth, pathogenicity, pigments, ginsenoside pathway, and development were discussed. Almost 83.3% of the EST sequence was annotated using one-dimensional insilico analysis.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.119-134
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• 2012

As much as the popularity of ginseng in herbal prescriptions or remedies, ginseng has become the focus of research in many scientific fields. Analytical methodologies for ginseng, referred to as ginseng analysis hereafter, have been developed for bioactive component discovery, phytochemical profiling, quality control, and pharmacokinetic studies. This review summarizes the most recent advances in ginseng analysis in the past half-decade including emerging techniques and analytical trends. Ginseng analysis includes all of the leading analytical tools and serves as a representative model for the analytical research of herbal medicines.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2018

Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is recognized as one of the most valuable medicinal herbs in Asia and it contains diverse phytochemicals that contribute to its pharmacological effects. Although lipids represent a major component of ginseng, ginseng lipids are still far from being fully explored. This review is focused on ginseng lipid components and methodologies of their analysis. The ginseng lipid compounds were categorized according to the structural features of each lipid class. This basic information on ginseng lipid components and the analysis methods will be applicable to authentification or quality control of ginseng products, and development of lipid-based pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals from ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.205-210
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• 2012

For quality control of components in Korean red ginseng powder and extract, a new method for simultaneous quantification of 12 ginsenosides ($Rg_1$, Re, Rf, $Rh_1$, $Rg_2$[S], $Rg_2$[R], $Rb_1$, Rc, $Rb_2$, Rd, $Rg_3$[S], and $Rg_3$[R]) was studied. Compared to the official method for quantification of marker substances (ginsenosides $Rg_1$ and $Rb_1$), the proposed methods were guaranteed by in-house method validation. Several criteria such as linearity, specificity, precision and accuracy were evaluated. For red ginseng powder, recovery (averaging 95% to 105%) was calculated, and analysis of variance was carried out to estimate the relative standard deviation (0.20% to 2.12%). For red ginseng extract, the average recovery rate was 90% to 99% and the relative standard deviation was 0.39% to 2.40%. These results indicate that the proposed method could be used in the laboratory for determination of 12 ginsenosides in red ginseng powder and extract. In addition, this method was found to be suitable for quality control of ginseng products and potentially offer time and cost benefits.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2014

Discriminating between two herbal medicines (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius), with similar chemical and physical properties but different therapeutic effects, is a very serious and difficult problem. Differentiation between two processed ginseng genera is even more difficult because the characteristics of their appearance are very similar. An ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF MS)-based metabolomic technique was applied for the metabolite profiling of 40 processed P. ginseng and processed P. quinquefolius. Currently known biomarkers such as ginsenoside Rf and F11 have been used for the analysis using the UPLC-photodiode array detector. However, this method was not able to fully discriminate between the two processed ginseng genera. Thus, an optimized UPLC-QTOF-based metabolic profiling method was adapted for the analysis and evaluation of two processed ginseng genera. As a result, all known biomarkers were identified by the proposed metabolomics, and additional potential biomarkers were extracted from the huge amounts of global analysis data. Therefore, it is expected that such metabolomics techniques would be widely applied to the ginseng research field.

• CELLMED
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.2.1-2.10
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• 2024

Through big data analysis of the 'Joseonwangjosilok', this study examines the perception of ginseng among the ruling class and its utilization during the Joseon era. It aims to provide foundational data for the development of ginseng into a high-value cultural commodity. The focus of this research, the Joseonwangjosilok, comprises 1,968 volumes in 948 books, spanning a record of 518 years. Data was collected through web crawling on the website of the National Institute of Korean History, followed by frequency analysis of significant words. To assess the interest in ginseng across the reigns of 27 kings during the Joseon era, ginseng frequency records were adjusted based on years in power and the number of articles, creating an interest index for comparative rankings across reigns. Analysis revealed higher interest in ginseng during the reigns of King Jeongjo and King Yeongjo in the 18th century, King Sunjo in the 19th century, King Sejong in the 15th century, King Sukjong in the 17th century, and King Gojong in the 19th century. Examining the temporal emergence and changes in ginseng during the Joseon era, general ginseng types like insam and sansam had the highest frequency in the 15th century. It appears that Korea adeptly utilized ceremonial goods in diplomatic relations with China and Japan, meeting the demand for ginseng from their royal and aristocratic societies. Processed ginseng varieties such as hongsam and posam, along with traded and taxed ginseng, showed peak frequency in the 18th century. This coincided with increased cultivation, allowing a higher supply and fostering the development of ginseng processing technologies like hongsam.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.290-295
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• 2022

Background: Dried and red ginseng are well-known types of processed ginseng and are widely used as healthy food. The dried and red ginseng quality may vary with the storage period of raw ginseng. Therefore, herein, the effect of the storage period of fresh ginseng on processed ginseng quality was evaluated through multicomponent quantification with statistical analysis. Methods: A method based on ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in multiple-reaction monitoring mode (UPLC-MRM-MS) was developed for quantitation of ginsenosides and oligosaccharides in dried and red ginseng. Principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were conducted to evaluate the dynamic distributions of ginsenosides and oligosaccharides after different storage periods. Results: Eighteen PPD, PPT and OLE ginsenosides and nine reducing and nonreducing oligosaccharides were identified and quantified. With storage period extension, the ginsenoside content in the processed ginseng increased slightly in the first 2 weeks and decreased gradually in the following 9 weeks. The content of reducing oligosaccharides decreased continuously as storage time extending, while that of the nonreducing oligosaccharides increased. Chemical conversions occurred during storage, based on which potential chemical markers for the storage period evaluation of fresh ginseng were screened. Conclusion: According to ginsenoside and oligosaccharide distributions, it was found that the optimal storage period was 2 weeks and that the storage period of fresh ginseng should not exceed 4 weeks at 0 ℃. This study provides deep insights into the quality control of processed ginseng and comprehensive factors for storage of raw ginseng.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2005

Panax ginseng is one of the most important medicinal plants in the world. The international trade of ginseng is increasing yearly. The disguise of Chinese and American ginseng into Korean ginseng became a problem in recent years in abroad and Korea. An effective method to authenticate the Korean Panax ginseng from others at a DNA level is necessary for the healthy development of the ginseng market. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was applied to develop a method for the identification of Korean ginseng between Chinese ginseng and American ginseng. It is very difficult to detect the different polymorphic bands among Korean field cultivated ginseng, and between field and wild-cultivated ginseng. The genetic distance coefficient by AFLP analysis between field- and wild cultivated Korean ginseng was very low, 0.056. Whereas, polymorphic bands between Korean and Chinese wild-cultivated ginseng was significantly different. The genetic distance coefficient between wild-cultivated Korean and Chinese ginseng was 0.149. The genetic distance coefficients between the P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius were ranging from 0.626 to 0.666. These results support that the AFLP analysis could be applied to authenticate Korean P. ginseng from others Chinese P. ginseng and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius).

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.217-221
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• 1992

Total polysaccharide contents in Panax ginseng roots were evaluated by a spectrophotometry, utilizing the complex formation of ginseng polysaccharide with alcian blue dye in 50 mM ammonium biphosphate, pH 4.2. The total polysaccharide content in red ginseng was about three times higher than that in fresh ginseng when both were extracted with water, and was increased about two times when red ginseng was extracted with an alkaline solution. The determination of total polysaccharide in various parts of ginseng revealed that main roots contained the component more than fine roots. Fresh ginseng sections stained by the dye showed polysaccharide mainly found in cortex and cambium but not in epidermis. Pattern-analysis on total and acidic polysaccharides from fresh and red ginsengs exhibited that the chemical compositions of the polysaccharides extracted from both ginsengs quite differed from each other.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.775-783
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• 2020

Background: The reports about valuable oligosaccharides in ginseng are quite limited. There is an urgent need to develop a practical procedure to detect and analyze ginseng oligosaccharides. Methods: The oligosaccharide extracts from ginseng were permethylated by solid-phase methylation method and then were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-Q-Orbitrap/MS. The sequence, linkage, and configuration information of oligosaccharides were determined by using accurate m/z value and tandem mass information. Several standard references were used to further confirm the identification. The oligosaccharide composition in white ginseng and red ginseng was compared using a multivariate statistical analysis method. Results: The nonreducing oligosaccharide erlose among 12 oligosaccharides identified was reported for the first time in ginseng. In the comparison of the oligosaccharide extracts from white ginseng and red ginseng, a clear separation was observed in the partial least squares-discriminate analysis score plot, indicating the sugar differences in these two kinds of ginseng samples. The glycans with variable importance in the projection value large than 1.0 were considered to contribute most to the classification. The contents of oligosaccharides in red ginseng were lower than those in white ginseng, and the contents of maltose, maltotriose, maltotetraose, maltopentaose, maltohexaose, maltoheptaose, maltooctaose, maltononaose, sucrose, and erlose decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in red ginseng. Conclusion: A solid-phase methylation method combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was successfully applied to analyze the oligosaccharides in ginseng extracts, which provides the possibility for holistic evaluation of ginseng oligosaccharides. The comparison of oligosaccharide composition of white ginseng and red ginseng could help understand the differences in pharmacological activities between these two kinds of ginseng samples from the perspective of glycans.