Chemical Characteristics of Normal and Inferior Parts in Korean Red Ginseng

정상홍삼과 불량홍삼의 화학적 특성

This study was carried out to investigate a point of difference in chemical characteristics between normal and inferior Korean red ginseng (Naeback red ginseng=red ginseng with white part of clear boundary in phloem and/or xylem of ginseng body, saengnaeback red ginseng=red ginseng with white part of indistinct boundary). content of total sugar as chemical components of naeback and saengnaeback part from Korean red ginseng were less than that of normal part, and content of reducing sugar in normal and saengnaebakc part showed higher than that of naeback part. But differences in content of total phenolic compounds was not found. The content of crude saponin in normal part was highest, amounts of ginsneoside were about same. The content of constituent amino acid in normal part was about 2 times as compared with those in naeback and saengnaeback part in red ginseng. Among the various amino acids, the contents of arginine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine and alanine of normal and naeback part were higher than others, but in saengnaeback proline, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, threonin and glycine etc. were higher. In the total amount of free amino acids, those in normal, naeback and saengnaeback part were about the same one another, and arginine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid were major free amino acids.