• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.264-272
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to compare the antioxidant activities and functional contents of Korean conventional and Chinese seed gingers from the Jeollabuk-do Wanju and Chungcheongnam-do Seosan regions. Ginger samples were subjected to steaming treatments for different durations (2-8 h) at 121℃ using an autoclave. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activities, while functional ingredient contents were analyzed for gingerols and shogaols. The results showed that Wanju conventional seed ginger (WO-2) had the highest total polyphenol (85.24 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (98.14 RE/100 g) contents, surpassing that of the control in all steamed groups at 6 h. ABTS radical scavenging activity showed a strong correlation with total polyphenol and flavonoid contents. The control groups indicated that Korean conventional seed ginger had 1.0-1.3 times higher gingerol contents compared to Chinese seed ginger. Furthermore, the content of shogaols, considered major functional ingredients, increased significantly with longer steaming durations, reaching the highest content (1,793 mg/kg) at 8 h, which was 1.0-1.8 times higher in Korean conventional seed ginger than that in Chinese seed ginger. These experiments provide valuable data supporting the excellence of Korean conventional seed ginger in the future.