• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.281-284
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• 2007

The objective of this research is to provide basic information necessary to differentiate between ginseng (Panax ginseng) grown in woods environments and cultivated ginseng. The ginseng saponin (ginsenoside) contents of Korean woods-grown, 4 year-old cultivated, and 6 year-old cultivated ginsengs were determined via HPLC analysis. The total saponins in the woods-grown ginseng (0.648%) were approximately twice that of the 4 year-old cultivated (0.270%) and the 6 year-old cultivated ginsengs (0.280%). The protopanaxadiols (PD)/protopanaxatriols (PT) ratio of the woods-grown ginseng (3.258%) was higher than that of the 4 year-old cultivated (2.456%) and the 6 year-old cultivated ginsengs (2.183%). The $Rb_1/Rg_1$ ratio of the woods-grown ginseng (10.225%) was also higher than those of the 4 year-old cultivated (3.514%) and the 6 year-old cultivated ginsengs (4.865%).

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.324-327
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• 1999

This study was carried out to establish the extraction method of red ginseng extract without saponin decomposition. Red ginseng was extracted with impulse vacuum system and multi-stage extraction method. Crude saponin content of red ginseng extract (RGE) from impulse vacuum system was 5.4-5.9%, while that of RGE from multi-stage extraction method was 8.2-8.3%. However, HPLC Patterns indicated that saponins of RGE from impulse vacuum system were hardly decomposed, while those of RGE from multi-stage extraction method were decomposed, especially in ginsenoside -Rgl and -Re saponin. Also, the yields of red ginseng by impulse vacuum system were 15 to 20 times higher than that of multi-stage extraction method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.10
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• pp.1533-1538
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to select an effective microbial strain to enhance the sensory qualities and functionalities of fermented ginseng soymilk. For this purpose, soybean were ground with water extracts of ginseng and fermented with five Lactobacillus strains. All strains grew well in ginseng soymilk, and viable cell counts reached greater than 8 log CFU/mL after 18 h of fermentation. The contents of total ginsenosides were higher in soymilk fermented with L. casei ATCC 393 than those in the other strains. The sensory qualities of the fermented soymilk were observed to increase with the intensity of sourness and showed the best sensory acceptability of soymilk fermented with L. kefir ATCC 35411. Moreover, the antioxidant activities, superoxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities were significantly enhanced by 2~4 and 4~5 times, respectively, compared to the non-fermented soymilk. In particular, the antioxidant activities of the fermented soymilk by L. kefir ATCC 35411 were the highest among the samples. This result suggests that soymilk fermented by L. kefir ATCC 35411 allowed obtaining a soymilk with enhanced sensory quality and antioxidant activity was able to contribute to the health benefit.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.191-199
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• 2011

The human ether-a-go-go-related gene (HERG) cardiac $K^+$ channels are one of the representative pharmacological targets for development of drugs against cardiovascular diseases such as arrhythmia. Panax ginseng has been known to exhibit cardioprotective effects. In a previous report we demonstrated that ginsenoside $Rg_3$ regulates HERG $K^+$ channels by decelerating deactivation. However, little is known about how ginsenoside metabolites regulate HERG $K^+$ channel activity. In the present study, we examined the effects of ginsenoside metabolites such as compound K (CK), protopanaxadiol (PPD), and protopanaxatriol (PPT) on HERG $K^+$ channel activity by expressing human a subunits in Xenopus oocytes. CK induced a large persistent deactivatingtail current ($I_{deactivating-tail}$) and significantly decelerated deactivating current decay in a concentration-dependent manner. The $EC_{50}$ for persistent $I_{deactivating-tail}$ was $16.6{\pm}1.3$ ${\mu}M$. In contrast to CK, PPT accelerated deactivating-tail current deactivation. PPD itself had no effects on deactivating-tail currents, whereas PPD inhibited ginsenoside $Rg_3$-induced persistent $I_{deactivating-tail}$ and accelerated HERG $K^+$ channel deactivation in a concentration-dependent manner. These results indicate that ginsenoside metabolites exhibit differential regulation on Ideactivating-tail of HERG $K^+$ channel.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.105-114
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• 2020

Background: Exploring the pharmacokinetic (PK) changes of various active components of single herbs and their combinations is necessary to elucidate the compatibility mechanism. However, the lack of chemical standards and low concentrations of multiple active ingredients in the biological matrix restrict PK studies. Methods: A putative multiple reaction monitoring strategy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was developed to extend the PK scopes of quantification without resorting to the use of chemical standards. First, the compounds studied, including components with available reference standard (ARS) and components lacking reference standard (LRS), were preclassified to several groups according to their chemical structures. Herb decoctions were then subjected to ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis with appropriate collision energy (CE) in MS² mode. Finally, multiple reaction monitoring transitions transformed from MS² of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry were used for ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to obtain the mass responses of LRS components. LRS components quantification was further performed by developing an assistive group-dependent semiquantitative method. Results: The developed method was exemplified by the comparative PK process of single herbs Radix Ginseng (RG), Radix Polygala (RP), and their combinations (RG-RP). Significant changes in PK parameters were observed before and after combination. Conclusion: Results indicated that Traditional Chinese Medicine combinations can produce synergistic effects and diminish possible toxic effects, thereby reflecting the advantages of compatibility. The proposed strategy can solve the quantitative problem of LRS and extend the scopes of PK studies.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.38-50
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• 2003

In this paper, a new high resolution reflectometry scheme, time-frequency domain reflectometry (TFDR), is proposed to detect and locate fault in wiring. Traditional reflectometry methods have been achieved in either the time domain or frequency domain only. However, time-frequency domain reflectometry utilizes time and frequency information of a transient signal to detect and locate the fault. The time-frequency domain reflectometry approach described in this paper is characterized by time-frequency reference signal design and post-processing of the reference and reflected signals to detect and locate the fault. Design of the reference signal in time-frequency domain reflectometry is based on the determination of the frequency bandwidth of the physical properties of cable under test. The detection and estimation of the fault on the time-frequency domain reflectometry relies on the time-frequency domain reflectometry is compared with commercial time domain reflectomtery (TDR) instrument. In these experiments provided in this paper, TFDR locates the fault with smaller error than TDR. Knowledge of time and frequency localized information for the reference and reflected signal gained via time-frequency analysis, allows one to detect the fault and estimate the location accurately.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.135-140
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• 2003

North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) was analysed for total ginsenosides and ten major ginsenosides (R$_{0}$ , Rb$_1$, Rb$_2$, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg$_1$, pseudoginsenoside F$_{11}$ and gypenoside XVII), and variations in ginsenoside content with age of plant (over a four-year-period) and geographic location (Ontario versus British Columbia) were investigated. In the roots the total ginsenoside content increased with age up to 58-100 mgㆍg$^{-1}$ dry weights in the fourth year, but in leaves it remained constant over time. Roots and leaves, moreover, had different proportions of individual ginsenosides. The most abundant ginsenosides were Rb$_1$ (56mgㆍg$^{-1}$ for Ontario; 37mgㆍg$^{-1}$ for British Columbia) and Re (21mgㆍg$^{-1}$ for Ontario; 15 mgㆍg$^{-1}$ for British Columbia) in roots, and Rd (28-38 mgㆍg$^{-1}$ ), Re (20-25 mgㆍg$^{-1}$ ), and Rb$_2$ (13-19 mgㆍg$^{-1}$ ) in leaves. Measurable quantities of Rf were found in leaves (0.4-1.8 mgㆍg$^{-1}$ ) but not in roots or stems. Our results show that ginsenoside profiles in general, and Rf in particular, could be used for chemical fingerprinting to distinguish the different parts of the ginseng plant, and that ginseng leaves could be valuable sources of the ginsenosides Rd, Re, and Rb$_2$.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.86-91
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• 2011

Ginsenoside (G)-F1 is an enzymatic metabolite generated from G-Rg1. Although this metabolite has been reported to suppress platelet aggregation and to reduce gap junction-mediated intercellular communication, the modulatory activity of G-F1 on the functional role of skin-derived cells has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the regulatory role of G-F1 on the cellular responses of B16 melanoma cells. G-F1 strongly suppressed the proliferation of B16 cells up to 60% at 200 ${\mu}g/mL$, while only diminishing the viability of HEK293 cells up to 30%. Furthermore, G-F1 remarkably induced morphological change and clustering of B16 melanoma cells. The melanin production of B16 cells was also significantly blocked by G-F1 up to 70%. Interestingly, intracellular signaling events involved in cell proliferation, migration, and morphological change were up-regulated at 1 h incubation but down-regulated at 12 h. Therefore, our results suggest that G-F1 can be applied as a novel anti-skin cancer drug with anti-proliferative and anti-migration features.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.62-72
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• 2016

Banhasasim-tang is a well-known traditional Korean herbal formula and has been used clinically for the treatment of gastric disease, including acute and chronic gastritis, diarrhea and gastric ulcers in Korea. In this study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometer method was developed for the quantitative determination of the 13 marker constituents, homogentisic acid (1), 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (2), spinosin (3), liquiritin (4), baicalin (5), ginsenoside Rg1 (6), liquiritigenin (7), wogonoside (8), ginsenoside Rb1 (9), baicalein (10), glycyrrhizin (11), wogonin (12), and 6-gingerol (13) in Banhasasim-tang decoction. Separation of the compounds 1-13 was using an UPLC BEH $C_{18}$ ($100{\times}2.1mm$, $1.7{\mu}m$) column and column oven temperature was maintained at $45^{\circ}C$. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in water (A) and acetonitrile (B) by gradient elution. The injection volume and flow rate were $2.0{\mu}L$ and 0.3 mL/min, respectively. Calibration curves of the compounds 1-13 were showed with $r^2$ values ${\geq}0.9908$. The limit of detection and limit of quantification values of the compounds 1-13 were 0.04-1.11 ng/mL and 0.13-3.33 ng/mL, respectively. Among the these compounds, the compounds 1-3 were not detected, while the compounds 4-13 were detected in the ranges of $3.20-107,062.98{\mu}g/g$ in Banhasasim-tang sample.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2016

Background: Minor saponins or human intestinal bacterial metabolites, such as ginsenosides Rg3, F2, Rh2, and compound K, are more pharmacologically active than major saponins, such as ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, and Rc. In this work, enzymatic hydrolysis of ginsenoside Rb1 was studied using enzyme preparations from cultured mycelia of mushrooms. Methods: Mycelia of Armillaria mellea, Ganoderma lucidum, Phellinus linteus, Elfvingia applanata, and Pleurotus ostreatus were cultivated in liquid media at $25^{\circ}C$ for 2 wk. Enzyme preparations from cultured mycelia of five mushrooms were obtained by mycelia separation from cultured broth, enzyme extraction, ammonium sulfate (30-80%) precipitation, dialysis, and freeze drying, respectively. The enzyme preparations were used for enzymatic hydrolysis of ginsenoside Rb1. Results: Among the mushrooms used in this study, the enzyme preparation from cultured mycelia of A. mellea (AMMEP) was found to convert ginsenoside Rb1 into compound K with a high yield, while those from G. lucidum, P. linteus, E. applanata, and P. ostreatus produced remarkable amounts of ginsenoside Rd from ginsenoside Rb1. The enzymatic hydrolysis pathway of ginsenoside Rb1 by AMMEP was $Rb1{\rightarrow}Rd{\rightarrow}F2{\rightarrow}$ compound K. The optimum reaction conditions for compound K formation from ginsenoside Rb1 were as follows: reaction time 72-96 h, pH 4.0-4.5, and temperature $45-55^{\circ}C$. Conclusion: AMMEP can be used to produce the human intestinal bacterial metabolite, compound K, from ginsenoside Rb1 with a high yield and without food safety issues.