• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

Panax ginseng (Ginseng or Korean ginseng) is one of the most important medicinal herbs in the world. We made a high-quality whole genome sequence of P. ginseng using 'Chunpoong' cultivar, which is the first cultivar registered in Korea Seed and Variety Service (KSVS) with relatively similar genotypes and superior phenotypes, representing approximately 3 Gbp and 60,000 genes. Genome sequence analyses of P. ginseng and related speciesrevealed the origin of Korean ginseng and the ecological adaptation of 18 Panax species around the world. Korean ginseng and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius) are tetraploid species having 24 chromosome pairs, while the other 16 species are diploid species with 12 chromosome pairs. Panax and Aralia are the closest genera belonging to the Araliaceae family that diverged approximately 8 million years ago (MYA). All Panax species evolved as shade plants adapting to cool climates and low light conditions under the canopy of deep forests from Southeast Asia such as Vietnam to Northeast Asia such as Russia approximately 6 MYA. However, through recurrent ice ages and global warming, most diploid Panax species disappeared due to the freezing winter, while tetraploid P. ginseng may have appeared by allotetraploidization, which contributed to the adaptation to cold temperaturesin Northeast Asian countries including the Korea peninsula approximately 2 MYA. American ginseng evolved by the adaptation of P. ginseng in Northeast America after the intercontinental migration 1 MYA. Meanwhile, most of diploid Panax species survived in high-altitude mountains over 1,600 meters in Southeast Asia because they could not endure the hot temperature and freezing cold. The genome sequence provides good basisto unveil the origin and evolution of ginseng and also supports practical gene chips which is useful for breeding and the ginseng industry.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.52-58
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• 2000

In order to develop convenient and reproducible methods for identification of ginseng drugs at a DNA level, RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) and PCR-RFLP (PCR-Restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis were applied within Panax species. To authenticate Panax ginseng betvyeen Chinese and Korean ginseng population, RAPD analysis were carried out using 20 mer-random primer. The similarity coefficients among the DNA of ginseng plants analyzed were low, ranging from 0.197 to 0.491. In addition, using PCR-RFLP analysis, very different fingerprints were obtained within Korean ginseng plants. These results suggest that these methods are able to authenticate the concerned Panax species. Broader application of this approach to authenticate other morphologically similar medicinal materials is rationalized.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2006

This work was carried out to establish adventitious root culture system in three Panax species (wild-grown P. ginseng, P. quinquefolium, and P. japonicum) to analyze their ginsenoside productivity. Adventitious roots were induced directly from segments of seedlings after cultured on MS(Murashige andSkoog 1962) solid medium containing 3.0 mg/l IBA. Omission of $NH_4NO_3$ from the medium greatly enhanced both the frequency of adventitious root formation and number of roots per explants in all the three Panax species. However, elongation of post-induced adventitious roots was enhanced on medium with $NH_4NO_3$. Two-step culture protocol: $NH_4NO_3$-free medium for first two weeks of culture, followed by $NH_4NO_3$ containing medium for further 4 weeks, greatly enhanced the fresh weight increase of adventitious roots in all the three ginseng species. The fresh weight of adventitious roots was high in P. quinquefolium and low in P. ginseng, followed by P. japonioum regardless of the composition of medium. Pattern and content of ginsenosides in adventitious roots differed among the three Panax species. Total ginsenoside content of adventitious roots in P. quinquefolium, P. ginseng, and p. japonicum was 8.03, 15.7 and 1.2 mg/g dry weight, respectively. Among the three speices, adventitious roots in P. quinquefolium produced hig-hamount of ginsenosides. The pattern of ginsenoside fractions between P. ginseng and P. quinquefolium was similar but the amount of ginsenoside differed between the two, While, in P japonicum, total ginsenoside content was very low and some ginsenosides such as ginsenoside Rb2 and Rf were not detected. Conclusively, we demonstrate that same culture condition was required for induction and elongation of adventitious roots of three ginseng species but growth of adventitious roots and their ginsenoside production were different among them.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.1
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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.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.18-21
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• 1998

Comparative cytotoxic activities of petroleum ether soluble fraction from various ginsengs of Panax species were evaluated using A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma) and SK-OV-3(human ovary carcinoma) cancer cell lines. Korean red ginseng, Korean white ginseng, American ginseng and Canadian ginseng were found to show more potent cytotoxicitles on A549 and SK-OV-3 cell lines than Chinese red ginseng, Japanese red ginseng and Sanchi ginseng. It is noteworthy that especially, red ginseng prepared from the root of Panax ginseng cultivated in Korea shows relatively stronger cytotoxic activities than those cultivated in China and Japan.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.157-162
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• 1987

The study was carried out to investigate the effects of light intensity, temperature and seasonal trends on the photosynthesis as well as the physiological characteristics of Panax species and cultivars. Four-year-old plant of Violet-stem variant, Yellow-berry variant, Mimaki and Russian ginseng of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer and American ginseng of Panax quiquefolium L. were used for study. These Panax species and cultivars were cultivated under the straw shading. The light saturation point of leaves in Violet-stem variant, Yellow-berry variant, Mimaki and American ginseng were 15,000 lux, but that of Russian ginseng was 10,000 lux. The optimum air temperature on the phtosynthesis of Violet-stem variant, Yellow-berry variant, Mimaki and American ginseng were 20$^{\circ}C$ but that of Russian ginseng was 15$^{\circ}C$ under 15,000 lux. The photosynthetic rates were increased in order of Russian ginseng, Mimaki, Yellow-berry variant, Violet-stem variant and American ginseng. The respiration rates of ginseng leaves were increased according to the increasing of temperature, but it was not different among Panax species and cultivars. Stomata frequency of American ginseng was highest, that of Russian ginseng lowest, while the length of stomata was reverse. The total chlorophyll content of American ginseng and specific leaf weight of Mimaki were higher than other ginseng cultivars. The root weight of American ginseng was heavier than others, but that of Russian ginseng was lighter. The num ber of leaflets per plant of 2-year-old plant and the root weight of 6-year-old plant were increased in order of Russian ginseng, American ginseng, Mimaki, Yellow-berry variant and Violet-stem variant.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 2013

This study describes the identification of Panax species using mitochondrial consensus primers. Initially, a total of thirty primers were tested in ten Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species, P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. In the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification results, three primers (cox1, nad1/2-3 and nad2/1-2) generated co-dominant polymorphic banding patterns discriminating Korean ginseng cultivars from P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. However, these primers could not generated polymorphisms among the Korean ginseng cultivars, and simply represented species-specific polymorphisms for P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng. Primers PQ91 and PN418 were designed from the consensus sequence of nad1/2-3 region. Two banding patterns (A or B) were detected in PQ91. Korean ginseng cultivars and P. notoginseng shared the same banding pattern (A type) and P. quinquefolius was identified another banding pattern (B type). In the case of PN418, two banding patterns (A or B) were detected in the Korean ginseng cultivars and two foreign Panax species. Korean ginseng cultivars and P. quinquefolius shared the same banding pattern (A type) and P. notoginseng was identified another banding pattern (B type). The combination banding patterns of three Panax species, Korean ginseng cultivars (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.), P. quinquefolius and P. notoginseng, was identified as 'AA', 'BA' and 'AB', respectively. Consequently, PQ91 and PN418 primer sets can be used to distinguish among Panax species.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.601-605
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• 2003

Traditional taxonomic methods used for the identification and differentiation of ginsengs rely primarily on morphological observations or physiochemical methods, which cannot be used efficiently when only powdered forms or shredded material is available. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to determine the unique DNA profiles that are characteristic not only of the genus Panax but also of various Panax subgroups collected from five different countries. RAPD results of OP-5A primer showed a specific single band that is characteristic of all ginseng samples. RAPD results of OP-13B primer demonstrated that OP-13B primer could be used as a unique RAPD marker to differentiate Panax species. These results support that this approach could be applied to distinguish Korean Ginseng (Panax ginseng) from others at the molecular level.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 2001

Ginseng (Panax genus) is one of the most medicinally important genera and consists of highly regarded medicines. Among the species of Panax, the ginseng species is widely known to have most medicinal quality. P. ginseng has 3 varieties, Jakyung, Chunggyung and Hwangsook, discovered in nature with different colors of stem and fruit, Jakyung has two cultivars, Yunpoong and Chunpoong. Rigorous phylogenetic analysis of these varieties and cultivars has been conducted with sequencing of rDNA region. The sequences of ITS1, ITS2 of every varieties and cultivars within P. ginseng were identical. The sequence of 5.8S rDNAs of Hwangsook variety were different from the sequences of 5.8S rDNAs of others by only one base pair at nucleotide position 14. In phylogenetic analysis and predicted RNA secondary structure study, it is assumed that evolution has proceeded from Hwangsook to other varieties. recently.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.42-48
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• 1996

This study was carried out to determine the differences of essential oil components among Korean, Chinese and Japanese red ginseng, and Korean white ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A Mayer) , American and Canadian ginseng (P. Quinquefolium), and sanchi ginseng (P notoginseng). The steam distilled oils of these ginsengs were analyzed by GC and GC-MS, and 22 sesquiterpenes, 8 sesquiterpene alcohols, 8 monoterpenes, 5 aldehydes, 4 esters, 3 acids, 2 alcohols and 5 miscellaneous components were identified. The major oil components of Korean, Chinese and Japanese red ginseng were $\beta$-panasinsene, $\beta$-caryophyllene, $\alpha$-panasinsene, $\alpha$-neoclovene, selina-4,11-diane, bicyclo-ger-macrene and spathulenol. The contents of $\beta$-panasinsene, $\alpha$-neoclovene, $\alpha$-basabolene and spathulenol were higher in Korean red ginseng than Chinese and Japanese red ginseng. The contents of $\alpha$-cubebene, selina-4,11-diene and ledol were higher in Chinese red ginseng than Korean and Japanese red ginseng, but those of selina-4,11-diene and spathulenol were lower in Japanese red ginseng than Korean or Chinese red ginseng. On the other hand, the GC patterns of the oils from American, Canadian and sanchi ginseng were different from that of Korean white ginseng.