• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.145-150
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• 2002

The changes in sensory characteristics, physical and chemical properties of raw ginseng (4-year-root, 50 g/root) were investigated when they were packaged individually in a soft film bag (ONY/LDPE/L-LDPE ; 200$\times$300 ㎜, 90 ㎛) and stored at 25$\^{C}$ for twenty days. Seventy-five percentages of sixty raw ginseng samples were adulterated and the most phenomenon of adulterating the raw ginseng was softening. Softened ginsengs were softer and stickier and they had stronger pungent and sour odors, stronger sour and sweet tastes than normal ginseng but had weaker ginseng and fresh odors. In addition, softened ginsengs exhibited lower hardness and pH, lower contents of diol-type ginsenosides, lower ratios of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids and higher contents of water-soluble pectins than normal ginseng while contents of moisture, crude protein, ether-soluble materials and crude ash of the softened ginsengs were similar to those of normal ginseng.