• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.227-236
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• 1997

Manual grading and sorting of red-ginsengs are inherently unreliable due to its subjective nature. A computerized technique based on optical and geometrical characteristics was studied for the objective quality evalution. Spectral reflectance of three categories of red-ginsengs - "Chunsam", "Chisam", "Yangsam" - were measured and analyzed. Variation of reflectance among parts of a single ginseng was more significant than variation among the quality categories of ginsengs. A PC-based image processing algorithm was developed to extract geometrical features such as length and thickness of body, length and number of roots, position of head and branch point, etc. The algorithm consisted of image segmentation, calculation of Euclidean distance, skeletonization and feature extraction. Performance of the algorithm was evaluated using sample ginseng images and found to be mostly sussessful.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.475-481
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of red ginseng extracted with water extract (WE) and 50% ethanol extract (EE) from white ginseng on cooked meat patties during storage. Different concentrations of extracts were examined (0.25%, 0.5%, and 1.%, respectively, dry base w/w). A significantly higher water holding capacity (WHC) was observed in samples supplemented with ${\geq}$ 0.5% WE (p < 0.01); however, EE had no significant effect on the WHC of meat patties. Samples supplemented with ${\geq}$ 0.5% WE or EE showed a significantly higher redness ($a^*$-value) compared to the control (p < 0.01). The total plate counts (TPC) and 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) of all treated samples were lower than those of the control. However, there were no significant differences in volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) values and sensory evaluation scores between the samples. These results suggest that red ginseng extract improves color and inhibits lipid oxidation and bacterial population at doses > 0.25%, prolonging the shelf-life of meat products and acting as a natural colorant.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2000

The anti-oxidative effects of Korean red ginseng extracts (total saponine, water extracts, alcohol extracts, lipophilic extracts), which were administered with the concentration of 200 mg/kg BW, were investigated after the injection of paraquat (1,1-dimethyl-4,4-bipyrimidinium dichloride: PQ) with dosage of 100 mg/kg BW on the peritoneal cavity to 6 weeks of 23~26 gm ICR male mice. The accumulation of hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O$$_2$) on the liver of mouse was lowered only in alcohol extract-treated group (p<0.05). The activity of glutathione peroxidase increased in the mouse treated with lipophilic ginseng extracts. And GSSG level was lowered in all groups, and this might be due to the paraquat ions that might prevent the reaction of GSSG into GSH. But we cannot find any relation between glutathione oxide-reductase activity on Korean ginseng extracts. Finally, the lipid peroxidation (MDA) level was lowest (p<0.01) in the group of mouse treated with water extracts of ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 2011

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fi fth most common malignancy in the world and complicates liver cirrhosis related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in many cases. We evaluated the therapeutic effect of Korean red ginseng extract (KGE) in patients with chronic liver diseases. Thirty male and female patients with HCC and another thirty with liver cirrhosis were included. Each category was divided into two groups; the first was used as control group, and received medical therapy only and the second group received the medical therapy supplemented with KGE capsules. The treated group with HCC received three KGE capsules/day (900 mg) while the treated group with HCV received two KGE capsules/day (600 mg) for 11 weeks along with their medical therapy. All patients were subjected to clinical examination and laboratory investigations, including liver function tests (at baseline, after 6 weeks of treatment and at the end of the study) and abdominal ultrasonography. Patients showing focal hepatic lesions were subjected to triphasic spiral abdominal computerized tomography and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). HCV RNA was determined quantitatively by Roche for patients in the HCV group. Results showed that the medical therapy alone failed to normalize the liver enzymes or decrease the virus concentration. KGE administration induced a significant improvement in liver function tests, decreased the tumor marker (AFP) levels, and decreased the viral titers in HCV patients. Thus, KGE demonstrated powerful therapeutic effects against HCV and liver cancer.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.403-410
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• 2012

The current inquiry was conducted to assess the change in sleep architecture after long periods of administration to determine whether ginseng can be used in the therapy of sleeplessness. Following post-surgical recovery, red ginseng extract (RGE, 200 mg/kg) was orally administrated to rats for 9 d. Data were gathered on the 1st, 5th, and 9th day, and an electroencephalogram was recorded 24 h after RGE administration. Polygraphic signs of unobstructed sleep-wake activities were simultaneously recorded with sleep-wake recording electrodes from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for 6 h. Rodents were generally tamed to freely moving polygraphic recording conditions. Although the 1st and 5th day of RGE treatment showed no effect on power densities in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the 9th day of RGE administration showed augmented ${\alpha}$-wave (8.0 to 13.0 Hz) power densities in NREM and REM sleep. RGE increased total sleep and NREM sleep. The total percentage of wakefulness was only decreased on the 9th day, and the number of sleep-wake cycles was reduced after the repeated administration of RGE. Thus, the repeated administration of RGE increased NREM sleep in rats. The ${\alpha}$-wave activities in the cortical electroencephalograms were increased in sleep architecture by RGE. Moreover, the levels of both ${\alpha}$- and ${\beta}$-subunits of the ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid $(GABA)_A$ receptor were reduced in the hypothalamus of the RGE-treated groups. The level of glutamic acid decarboxylase was over-expressed in the hypothalamus. These results demonstrate that RGE increases NREM sleep via $GABA_A$ergic systems.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.413-424
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• 2013

Korean Red Ginseng extract (KRGE) is a traditional herbal medicine utilized to prevent endothelium dysfunction in the cardiovascular system; however, its underlying mechanism has not been clearly elucidated. We here examined the pharmacological effect and molecular mechanism of KRGE on apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a serum-deprived apoptosis model. KRGE protected HUVECs from serum-deprived apoptosis by inhibiting mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase-9/-3 activation. This protective effect was significantly higher than that of American ginseng extract. KRGE treatment increased antiapoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-$X_L$ protein expression and Akt-dependent Bad phosphorylation. Moreover, KRGE prevented serum deprivation-induced subcellular redistribution of these proteins between the mitochondrion and the cytosol, resulting in suppression of mitochondrial cytochrome c release. In addition, KRGE increased nitric oxide (NO) production via Akt-dependent activation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), as well as inhibited caspase-9/-3 activities. These increases were reversed by co-treatment of cells with inhibitors of eNOS and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and pre-incubation of cell lysates in dithiothreitol, indicating KRGE induces NO-mediated caspase modification. Indeed, KRGE inhibited caspase-3 activity via S-nitrosylation. These findings suggest that KRGE prevents serum deprivation-induced HUVEC apoptosis via increased Bcl-2 and Bcl-$X_L$ protein expression, PI3K/Akt-dependent Bad phosphorylation, and eNOS/NO-mediated S-nitrosylation of caspases. The cytoprotective property of KRGE may be valuable for developing new pharmaceutical means that limit endothelial cell death induced during the pathogenesis of vascular diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.218-224
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• 1990

This study was made to observe changes in hemograms of the Sarcoma-180 mouse treated with extracts of Poria cocos and Panax ginseng. The life span of the Sarcoma-180 mouse administered with the mixture of the extract of Panax ginseng with the extract of P. cocos and the extract of P. cocos was extended more than the non-treated group. In the body weight of the Sarcoma-180 mouse, the non-treated group was increased more than the normal group and the groups administered with the mixture of ginseng extract with hoelen extract and hoelen extract. In the numbers of white blood cell especially lymphocyte, the groups administered with the mixture of ginseng extract with hoelen extract and hoelen extract were similar to the normal group, but the non-treated group was decreased. The Hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin in the mice infected with Sarcoma-180 were not significantly different between the group treated with extracts of them and the non-treated group. In the distributions and sizes of white blood cell and platelet in the mice, the group administered with the Hoelen extract was similar to the normal group comparing to the non-treated group.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.96-103
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• 1980

The effect of granule size of dried red ginseng extract on physical characteristics on tablet such as hardness, color, yield and disintegration time was studied. A moisture proofing agent was found to be necessary to form granules without serious absorption of moisture. The result showed that decrease in particle size resulted increase of values in weight, hardness and disintegration time. The granule size of 60∼80 mesh was found to be optimum for proper color uniformity and other physical characteristics of tables.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.199-205
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• 2006

It was investigated that how the periodic exposure to heat environment, and the treatment of korean white and red ginseng extracts had effects on the weight, diet uptake, blood components, organ weight, and the lipid peroxidation of liver in male S.D. rats. In the result of experiments using rats, chronic heat environment for 7 days at $38^{\circ}C$, 5 hrs per day, induced significant decrease of an average increase rate of body weight, but diet uptake was not affected clearly. In heat environment, the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin were not changed, but the number of white blood cells was significantly increased. The liver weight against body weight was decreased in rats. Also, MDA contents, related to lipid peroxidation, were remarkably increased in rat liver by heat environment. These physiological changes were attenuated by treatments of white and red ginseng extracts before and after exposure to heat environment, particularly in growth rate and lipid peroxidation of liver in rats. Also, red ginseng extracts had a better effect, though it was not that significant, than the white ginseng on the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and the weight change of liver. Although the investigation on the effective components and the study on the activity changes of associated materials are needed to perform, these present results imply that Korean ginseng may contribute to protection of body homeostasis against drastic climate changes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.215-221
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• 1984

To investigate stability for the quality of selected ginseng products, their sorption properties were clarified in red ginseng extract(RGEP), and red ginseng extract powder(RGEP), and red ginseng extract tea(RGET). Simultaneously, the BET monolayer value of each product was determined in order to inquire out the possibility of establishment as a criterion for the optimum moisture content of the ginseng products. Based on the BET monolayer moisture level of spray dried RGEP which ranged from 4.08 to 4.65%, it would be desirable to establish the optimum moisture content of the products at 4.4${\pm}$0.3%. This is 1.3 to 1.9% lower than the criter on, "less than 6.0%". The optimum moisture level for RGET of which monolayer value ranged 0.93 to 1.37% would be 1.2${\pm}$0.17%. In this case, the maximum permissible limit of moisture content could presumably be raised up to 1.37% in place of current criterion, "less than l.2%". From the results of a study on the growth of molds, the optimum moisture content for RGE assumed to be extended up to 40.0${\pm}$1.07 despite 36.0${\pm}$1.0% of the present criterion. On the other hand, a storage study under the maltreated condition, $48{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ 75%RH, was also carried out in order to make it clear whether the BET monolayer values were able to be used as indices for optimum moisture level of the products. In all samples tested adsorption occurred at even higher levels of moisture than the monolayer values. However, since there are many other possible factors affecting the quality of products the optimum moisture content is preferable to be reduced to the monolayer value. As a result, it was proved that the optimum level of moisture for both RGEP and RGET could be established by the monolayer values.