• 대한한의학회지
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• 제28권3호통권71호
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• pp.100-107
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• 2007

Objective : To build a basis of a research strategy for development of Korean ginseng as a global competitive medical product in the world market by Korean Oriental medicine group. Methods : Survey of all literature or analysis reports about market patterns related to ginseng or ginseng products in Korea and in other countries. Results : Korean ginseng and it products have rapidly decreased in share of the world market since the 1980s, with Korean ginseng occupying just 3% of the Hong Kong ginseng market in 2005. While Korean ginseng has been satisfied with consumption within the large Korean market itself, it now has only 1% of world market share. Conclusion : A systematic strategy is needed to strengthen global competitiveness of Korean ginseng based upon development of novel customer-tailored ginseng products. In addition, experience and science-based research in the Oriental medicine field should be involved in the process.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.151-159
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• 1994

To evaluate the anticarcinogenic effect and its mechanism of red ginseng, the mice were treated with red ginseng and received subcutaneous Bl6 melanoma cell line injection on the back. Tumor incidence was same (100%) both in water and red ginseng-treated groups, but tumor production was delayed in red ginseng-treated group. Survival time was somewhat longer in red ginseng-treated group. The histopathological findings were similar in both groups, but lymphocytic infiltration around the tumor and melanin production in the tumor cells were prominent in the red ginseng-treated group. Flow cytometric analysis on T lymphocytes and natural killer cells revealed increased $T_H$/$T_S$ ratio and increased NK cells in red ginseng-treated group. These results suggest that the anticarcinogenic effect of red ginseng may be exerted by the increased cell-mediated immunity and natural killer cell activity.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.41-46
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• 2010

Expensive herbs such as ginseng are always a possible target for fraudulent labeling. New mountain ginseng strains have occasionally been found deep within mountain areas and commercially traded at exorbitant prices. However, until now, no scientific basis has existed to distinguish such ginseng from commonly cultivated ginseng species other than by virtue of being found within deep mountain areas. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer has been shown to be an appropriate method for the identification of the most popular species (Panax ginseng) in the Panax ginseng genus. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) has been identified between three newly found mountain ginseng (KGD4, KGD5, and KW1) and already established Panax species. Specific PCR primers were designed from this SNP site within the sequence data and used to detect the mountain ginseng strains via multiplex PCR. The established multiplex-PCR method for the simultaneous detection of newly found mountain ginseng strains, Korean ginseng, and foreign ginseng in a single reaction was determined to be effective. This study is the first report of scientific discrimination of "mountain ginsengs" and describes an effective method of identification for fraud prevention and for uncovering the possible presence of other, cheaper ginseng species on the market.

• 농업과학연구
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.43-56
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• 2006

In this thesis we aim at analyzing international competitive power of Chinese ginseng in comparison with Korean ginseng and searching policy direction for Korea to compete Chinese ginseng industry. We summarized the research results as follows; First, we examine the structural change of ginseng industry of China. Second, we review the theories for international competitiveness and apply the method of analyzing competitiveness to ginseng industry. Third, we compared the international competitive power of the ginseng industry between China and Korea and found that Chinese ginseng, estimated by Revealed Comparative Advantage(RCA) at about 15, still remains high competitiveness in terms of cost and price but lowering price competitiveness recently. Based on the research results, we suggest export promotion strategies of the Korean ginseng as follows; 1) Korean government should enforce trade cooperation with China so as to register Korean root ginseng an importable medicine. 2) Korean ginseng producer should develop various products such as capsules, powders and etc. according to China's consumer purchasing power and taste. 3) Korean ginseng should be sold as an differentiated commodity so that it will contribute to building consumer loyalty to Korean ginseng, makes market share superior to other cheaper ginseng products in China. 4) In order to be effective brand marketing and product advertisement, there should be established reliable networks to process and distribute Korean ginseng products exclusively.

• 한국산림과학회지
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• 제98권2호
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• pp.170-177
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• 2009

There are remarkable differences in growth and morphological characters of roots between mountain and field cultivated Panax ginseng. Growth of root in mountain cultivated ginseng was much slower than that of field cultivated ginseng. However, the factor affecting the retarded growth in mountain ginseng was not known. Soil analysis revealed that phosphorus (P) content of mountain soil was exceptionally low at least ten-fold lower compared to that of field soil. Thus, we suggest that low availability of P in mountain soil may be one of the limiting factors for growth of ginseng in mountain soil environment. We had monitored the growth of ginseng plants after one and three years of phosphate fertilizer application. Three kinds of phosphate fertilizers: fused magnesium phosphate, fused superphosphate, and single superphosphate were applied to mountain soil. Application of phosphate fertilizers increased the fresh-, dry weight, and diameter of ginseng roots and resulted in increased P accumulation in roots. These results demonstrate that slow growth of ginseng in mountain soil environment might be attributed to the low P content in mountain soil. Thus, analysis of P amount in mountain soil will be a good indicator for the selection of suitable site the ginseng cultivation in forest.

• 한국약용작물학회지
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.302-307
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• 2018

Background: A soil-borne pathogenic fungus, Ilyonectria radicicola (Cylindrocarpon destructans) causes root rot on ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) and is known to attack many other plants. The Nectria/Neonectria radicicola complex has been renamed as the I. radicicola complex after analysis of its multi-gene relatedness and morphological characteristics. The fungi in this complex have been reclassified into 16 species under the genus Ilyonectria based on characteristics analysis Methods and Results: To obtain useful data from the Korean ginseng root rot, I. radicicola was isolated from the rhizosphere soils of the chestnut tree. They were identified through a pathogenicity test and a survey of the morphological features. The existence of I. radicicola in soil samples was confirmed by PCR detections using nested PCR with species-specific primer sets. These were subsequenctly isolated on semi-selective media from PCR-positive soils. Genetic analysis of the I. radicicola complex containing these pathogens was done by comparing the DNA sequences of the histone h3 region. These isolates originating from the rhizosphere soils of chestnut constituted a clade with other closely related species or I. radicicola isolates originating from ginseng or other host plants, respectively. Additionally, the pathogenicity tests to analyze the characteristics of these I. radicicola isolates revealed that they caused weakly virulent root rot on ginseng. Conclusions: This is the first study reporting that I. radicicola isolates from chestnut rhizosphere soils can attack ginseng plant in Korea. Thus, these results are expected to provide informations in the selection of suitable fields for ginseng cultivation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.58-65
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• 2021

Background: Panax ginseng, as one of the most widely used herbal medicines worldwide, has been studied comprehensively in terms of the chemical components and pharmacology. The proteins from ginseng are also of great importance for both nutrition value and the mechanism of secondary metabolites. However, the proteomic studies are less reported in the absence of the genome information. With the completion of ginseng genome sequencing, the proteome profiling has become available for the functional study of ginseng protein components. Methods: We optimized the protein extraction process systematically by using SDS-PAGE and one-dimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The extracted proteins were then analyzed by two-dimensional chromatography separation and cutting-edge mass spectrometry technique. Results: A total of 2,732 and 3,608 proteins were identified from ginseng root and cauline leaf, respectively, which was the largest data set reported so far. Only around 50% protein overlapped between the cauline leaf and root tissue parts because of the function assignment for plant growing. Further gene ontology and KEGG pathway revealed the distinguish difference between ginseng root and leaf, which accounts for the photosynthesis and metabolic process. With in-deep analysis of functional proteins related to ginsenoside synthesis, we interestingly found the cytochrome P450 and UDP-glycosyltransferase expression extensively in cauline leaf but not in the root, indicating that the post glucoside synthesis of ginsenosides might be carried out when growing and then transported to the root at withering. Conclusion: The systematically proteome analysis of Panax ginseng will provide us comprehensive understanding of ginsenoside synthesis and guidance for artificial cultivation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.570-579
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• 2020

Background: Many researchers reported that the various immune activities of red ginseng are due to acid polysaccharides. But, the exact structural characteristics of the acidic polysaccharide in red ginseng have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we isolated the acidic polysaccharide from red ginseng and characterized the structural property of the active moiety of this polysaccharide, which contributes to the immunostimulatory activity of red ginseng. Methods: A polysaccharide (RGP-AP-I) was purified from red ginseng via size-exclusion chromatography using Sephadex G-100. Immunostimulatary activity of RGP-AP-I was investigated via anti-complementory and macrophage stimulatory activity. The structure of RGP-AP-I was characterized by HPLC, sugar composition, β-glucosyl Yariv reagent and methylation analysis. Results: Peritoneal macrophages stimulated using RGP-AP-I significantly augmented the production of various cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. The primary structure of RGP-AP-I was elucidated by assessing its sugar composition and methylation analysis. RGP-AP-I is a 96 kDa acidic polysaccharide, and comprises nine different monosaccharides, which mainly include sugars such as rhamnose (Rha, 9.5%), galacturonic acid (GalA, 18.4%), galactose (Gal, 30.4%), and arabinose (Ara, 35.0%). RGP-AP-I exhibited an considerable reaction with the β-glucosyl Yariv reagent, revealing the presence of arabino-β-3,6-galactan. Methylation analysis indicated that RGP-AP-I comprises 21 different glycosyl linkages, such as 3-, 4-, 6- and 3,6-linked Galp; 5-linked Araf; 2,4-linked Rhap; and 4-linked GalAp, which are characteristics of rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I). Conclusion: we assumed that the immunostimulatory activity of RGP-AP-I may be due to the RG-I structure, which comprises a main chain with a repeating linkage unit, [→2)-Rhap-(1→4)-GalAp-(1→] and three groups of side chains such as (1→5)-linked arabinan, (1→4)-linked galactan, and arabino-β-3,6-galactan, which branch at the C(O)4 positions of Rha residues in the main chain of RGP-AP-I.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.60-68
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• 2017

Background: Various Panax ginseng cultivars exhibit a range of diversity for morphological and physiological traits. However, there are few studies on diversity of metabolic profiles and genetic background to understand the complex metabolic pathway in ginseng. Methods: To understand the complex metabolic pathway and related genes in ginseng, we tried to conduct integrated analysis of primary metabolite profiles and related gene expression using five ginseng cultivars showing different morphology. We investigated primary metabolite profiles via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and analyzed transcriptomes by Illumina sequencing using adventitious roots grown under the same conditions to elucidate the differences in metabolism underlying such genetic diversity. Results: GC-MS analysis revealed that primary metabolite profiling allowed us to classify the five cultivars into three independent groups and the grouping was also explained by eight major primary metabolites as biomarkers. We selected three cultivars (Chunpoong, Cheongsun, and Sunhyang) to represent each group and analyzed their transcriptomes. We inspected 100 unigenes involved in seven primary metabolite biosynthesis pathways and found that 21 unigenes encoding 15 enzymes were differentially expressed among the three cultivars. Integrated analysis of transcriptomes and metabolomes revealed that the ginseng cultivars differ in primary metabolites as well as in the putative genes involved in the complex process of primary metabolic pathways. Conclusion: Our data derived from this integrated analysis provide insights into the underlying complexity of genes and metabolites that co-regulate flux through these pathways in ginseng.

• Journal of Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.33-38
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• 2009

Korean Ginseng has been recognized as a representative special product in Korea and over the world for a long time, since its quality is known to be superior to Chinese, North American Ginseng. However, the export volume of Korean Ginseng products has been diminishing since 1990 because the imports of low price Chinese Ginseng and the effective marketing policy on North American Ginseng. Therefore, this study is to suggest the competitiveness reinforcement strategies through analyses of the present state and transition of the international competitiveness in Korean Ginseng. This study conducts the comparative analysis of international competitive power of ginseng between Korea and other exporting countries. There are many kinds of saponin that are competitive from a quality profile. However, price competitiveness was very low. According to the result of analysis, this study suggest the competitiveness reinforcement strategies of Korean Ginseng as follows ; First, it is necessary to establish the ginseng plan for high-quality environmentally-friendly production. Second, Korean Ginseng producer should develop various consumer-oriented products according to purchasing power and taste of target market consumers. Third, export strategies must be established by finding out every importing country’s characteristics with regard its import, circulation and consumption of the Korean Ginseng. The use of this study is to forecast useful information to concerned organization for the future policies to the ginseng products in the international market.