• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 1987

This study was carried out to get basic information that can be used in quality control for processing ginseng products and also in separation of pure ginsenosides for experimental purpose. The composition of various parts of 6 year-old ginseng was 4.1% of rhizome (node), 47.7% of main root, 34.1% of lateral root and 14.1% of fine Toot on dried weight basis. The weight ratios of epidermis-cortex and xylem were about 1 : 1 in main root and about 2 : 1 in lateral root. The distribution of total saponin content shows 29.2% in main root, 34.6% in lateral root, 29.1% in fine root and 7% in rhizome, but the order of the content per unit weight was fine root > rhizome > lateral root > main root. Total saponin content according to age of root was increased gradually within 3% for 6 years, as compared with two year old root. In view of the increase of root weight owing to the net amount of saponin in root increased continuously. The increase rates of total saponins per year were 3.1,12.3,19.8,43.8 and 21.1% in 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 years-old ginseng root, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.619-627
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• 1997

It is known that 2-methyl-1,4-naphtoquinone(menadione, MD) induces hepatotoxicities both in vivo and in vitro. These toxic effects are believed to result from oxidative damages to hepatocytes by "active oxygen" species via one-electron reduction of the naphtoquinone. The ginsenoside(GS) is a complex mixture of individual ginsenosides which is known to produce a range of effects on the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. In particular, GS has an antioxidant effect. In this experiment we studied the effect of GS from red panax ginseng(red ginseng total saponin, RGTS) on free radical-induced liver injuries by MD. Administration of MD($150{\mu}M$) caused an increase in aspartate aminotransferase(AST) activities and lipid peroxidation, decrease in alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activities and total bilirubin levels in blood, caused depletion of GSH and changes of antioxidant enzyme(superoxide dismutase, catalase) activities are shown in liver tissue. Administration of RGTS restored the AST levels that increased by MD, but catalase showed no significant changes. RGTS also had an effect of restoring the GSH level and had some synergistic effects with SOD. These data suggest that RGTS may have some protective effects on liver injury which is related with the oxygen free radical.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2012

Ginseng, the root of Panax ginseng Meyer, has been used frequently in traditional oriental medicine and is popular globally. Ginsenosides, which are the saponins in ginseng, are the major components having pharmacological and biological activities, including anti-diabetic and anti-tumor activities. In this study, we investigated the effects of total saponin from Korean red ginseng(TSKRG) on thrombin-produced thromboxane $A_2$ ($TXA_2$), an aggregating thrombogenic molecule, and its associated microsomal enzymes cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and $TXA_2$ synthase (TXAS). Thrombin (0.5 U/mL) increased $TXA_2$ production up to 169 ng/$10^8$ platelets as compared with control (0.2 ng/$10^8$ platelets). However, TSKRG inhibited potently $TXA_2$ production to the control level in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with the strong inhibition of COX-1 and TXAS activities in platelet microsomes having cytochrome c reductase activity. The results demonstrate TSKRG is a beneficial traditional oriental medicine in platelet-mediated thrombotic diseases via suppression of COX-1 and TXAS to inhibit production of $TXA_2$.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.23 no.1 s.53
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• pp.13-20
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• 1999

We previously reported that Korean red ginseng (KRG) has a relaxation effect on the smooth muscles of corpus cavernosum via nitric oxide (NO) pathway and calcium and potassium channels. However, it is suggested that the active ingredients of KRG might be different depending on the sources of preparation, and there might be differences in actions for different compositions. We first investigated the composition of KRG saponins according to the extractions of the various sources of KRG, then with these extractions the relaxation effects were evaluated in vitro and hemodynamical in vivo using New Zealand white rabbit and rat corpus cavernosum. The total compositions of ginsenoside $(G-Rb_1,\;-Rb_2,\;-Rc,\;-Rd,\;G-Re,\;-Rf,\;-Rg_1)$ in fractionated KRG saponin designated as TS-1, TS-2, TS-3 were $41\%,\;40\%,\;and\;62\%,$ respectively, and the ratios of PD saponin and PT saponin (PD/PT) were 1,55, 1.72, 2.25, and 2.61, the values of which were statistically significant. In vitro studies using the rabbit corpus cavernosal muscle strips, the KRG saponin relaxed cavernosal strips in a dose-dependent manner, and same results were observed in in vivo studies, that KRG saponin increased the intracavernosal pressure in the rat. There was difference in the efficacy according to fractionation techniques. The differences in the total contents of ginsenosides did not affect relaxation, rather PT saponin content was statistically related to the degree of cavernosal relaxation, and this action presumed to be mediated by NO pathway and calcium and potassium channels. In conclusion, KRG exerts relaxation which is a key step in erection via combination of effects on NO system or calcium and potassium channels. The efficacy of this action is different to the sources of ginseng, which is affected by the different composition of ginsenosides $(G-Rb_1,\;-Rb_2,\;-Rc,\;-Rd,\;G-Re,\;-Rf,\;-Rg_1).$ Thus the further studies on the active ingredients such as minor ginsenosides and non-saponin components of red ginseng with maximum potency should be sought.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.197-202
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• 1982

Kinetic study for the thermal degradation of ginsenosides in ginseng extract was conducted. The results indicate that the thermal degradation followed first order kinetics and rate constants varied substantially depending on the types of ginsenosides and heat treatment temperatures. Activation energy calculated by Arrhenius plots ranged from 16.80 kcal/mole to 30.10 kcal/mole and $Q_{10}$ values ranged from 2.01 to 3.49. Correlation coefficients between the change of ginsenoside contents by thermal degradation and heat treatment temperature were $0.995{\sim}0.999$. The dependence on temperatures of the decomposition rate constant of total ginsenoside can be expressed as $k=4.574{\times}10^8$ exp(8898.8/T).

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.610-617
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• 2016

Current study was performed to investigate the effect of morphological properties of black ginseng such as size and shape on the quality of black ginseng. The raw ginsengs were separated based on size (medium, large, and extra-large) and shape (straight ginseng, fibrous root ginseng). Subsequently, the raw ginsengs were steamed at $95^{\circ}C$ for 3 h and dried in the presence of heated air at $50^{\circ}C$ for 30 h. This process was repeated nine times for black ginseng production. The physiochemical properties such as the content of acidic polysaccharides, ginsenosides, and antioxidative activity were evaluated. Although minor difference in physiochemical properties such as acidic polysaccharide content in raw ginseng was observed, no statistical difference in the content of acidic polysaccharides, total phenols, and ginsenosides was observed during final black ginseng production based on size classification. The minor ginsenosides in fibrous root black ginseng, such as Rk3, Rh4, Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5 were higher in content than straight black ginseng. However, no correlation between the shape of ginseng and total phenol content and antioxidative activity was observed. Therefore, present results demonstrate that the difference in ginseng size in same-age and -production area does not affect the quality of black ginseng. Furthermore, difference in ginseng shape does not influence the overall quality of black ginseng. It is hypothesized that this study would be considered as supportive data for the production of high-quality black ginseng.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.219-225
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• 2010

We tested whether ginsenosides $Rg_3$-standardized ginseng extract (RGE) has anti-stress effects in restraint-stressed animals. RGE increased time spent in the open arms and open arm entries in the elevated plus-maze test. In addition, RGE blocked the reduction of center zone distance and stereotypes behaviors in the open-field test. RGE also increased head dips in stressed mice, indicating anxiolytic-like effects. Stress decreased movement distance and duration, burrowing, and rearing frequency but increased face washing and grooming. RGE significantly reversed burrowing and rearing activity in stressed mice. In addition, we measured sleep architecture in restraint stressed rats using EEG recorder. Stress increased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, but total sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep were not changed. RGE did not affect sleep architecture in stressed rats. These behavioral experiments suggest that RGE has anti-stress effects in restraint-stressed animal models.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in seasonal bioactive components of 4 and 6 years old fresh ginseng (Panax ginseng) and to provide basic information on the development of functional food using fresh ginseng. Seasonal changes were investigated by ginseng saponin analysis using HPLC method and acidic polysaccharides by carbazole sulfuric acid method. Total saponins showed the highest content of fresh ginseng collected in May, followed by March, July, and September. Fresh ginseng collected in May showed 2.5 times (4 years old) - 3.0 times (6 years old) higher than fresh ginseng collected in September. Acidic polysaccharides showed high content of fresh ginseng collected in March and September, and low content of fresh ginseng collected in May and July. From these results, the fresh ginseng collected in May can develop high concentrations of saponin. On the other hand, fresh ginseng collected in March and September is thought to be able to develop high concentration products of acidic polysaccharides.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.255-259
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• 2017

This study was conducted to provide basic information on ginseng saponin of dried ginseng radices. In order to achieve the proposed objective ginsenoside compositions of dried ginseng radices extract with 70% ethyl alcohol were examined by HPLC. The total saponin content, the sum of all ginsenosides, showed that Wild simulated ginseng (WSG), White fine ginseng (WFG), Skin White ginseng (SWG), and White ginseng (WG) stood at 2.510%, 1.643%, 0.587, and 0.429%, respectively. WSG in PPD/PPT ratio was highest at 3.190, WFG (1.934), WG (1.600), SWG (1.386) in order. In the content of ginsenoside Rb1, one of the marker compounds of ginseng, WSG (1.095%) showed the highest content, and WFG (0.527%), SWG (0.246%), WG (0.133%) in this order. The content of ginsenoside Rb1 of WSG (1.095%) was 4.5 times higher than SWG (0.246%). WSG (0.230%) showed the highest content in ginsenoside Rg1, a marker compounds of ginseng, followed by WFG (0.180%), SWG (0.141%) and WG (0.086%). The content of ginsenoside Rg1 of WSG (0.230%) was 1.6 times higher than SWG (0.141%).

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.72-77
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• 1995

The relationships between the soil chemical properties of ginseng fields and the contents of effective constituents in ginseng roots was investigated. The $NO_3-N$ contents in soils showed highly negative correlations with the contents of total sugar and reducing sugar in ginseng roots. The organic matter contents in soils showed positive correlations with the contents of sugar and ginoside in ginseng roots, while the contents of available phosphorus and exchangeable cations in soils showed highly negative correlations with the those in ginseng roots. For the Production of ginseng root of higher saponin contents, increase of the organic matter contents, and decrease of the contents of available phosphorus and exchangeable cations in soils were recommended.