• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 1994

To assess a polential relationship of Korean ginseng to allergic reactions, the effect of Korean ginseng on the total IgE in serum as an allergologic parameter was investigated in humans. Serum total IgE levels were measured in 8 subjects who have been taking ginseng for more than 5 years, 4 subjects of weak constitution, 10 newly hired workers in the ginseng processing industry and 7 normal subjects unexposed to Korean ginseng as control group. Blood samples were taken before and after the exposure to Korean ginseng. Total IgE levels after the exposure to Korean ginseng were not significantly different from those before the exposure within each group. And also, the IgE levels of control subjects were not significantly different compared with those of other groups. These results suggest that the exposure to Korean ginseng dose not affect significantly the IgE immune response of the subjects.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.256-262
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• 2022

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer is well known as traditional herbal medicine, and ginseng berries are known to exhibit potential immune-enhancing functions. However, little is known about the in vivo immunomodulatory activity of Korean ginseng berries. In this study, crude Korean ginseng berries polysaccharides (GBP) were isolated and their immunomodulatory activities were investigated using cyclophosphamide (CY)-induced immunosuppressive BALB/c mice. In CY-treated mice, oral administration of GBP (50-500 mg/kg BW) remarkably increased their spleen sizes and spleen indices and activated NK cell activities. GBP also resulted in the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes (coordinating with ConA: plant mitogen which is known to stimulate T-cell or LPS: endotoxin which binds receptor complex in B cells to promote the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines) in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, GBP significantly stimulated mRNA expression levels of immune-associated genes including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in CY-treated mice. These results indicate that GBP is involved in immune effects against CY-induced immunosuppression. Thus, GBP could be developed as an immunomodulation agent for medicinal or functional food application.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1361-1368
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• 2019

Codium fragile is an edible seaweed in Asian countries that has been used as a thrombolytic, anticoagulant, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulatory agent. Ginseng has also been known to maintain immune homeostasis and to regulate the immune system via enhancing resistance to diseases and microorganisms. In this study, anionic macromolecules extracted from C. fragile (CFAM) were orally administered with red ginseng extract (100 mg/kg body weight) to cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed male BALB/c mice to investigate the immune-enhancing cooperative effect of Codium fragile and red ginseng. Our results showed that supplementing CFAM with red ginseng extract significantly increased spleen index, T- and B-cell proliferation, NK cell activity, and splenic lymphocyte immune-associated gene expression compared to those with red ginseng alone, even though a high concentration of CFAM with red ginseng decreased immune biomarkers. These results suggest that CFAM can be used as a co-stimulant to enhance health and immunity in immunosuppressed conditions.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.214-224
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• 2022

Red ginseng oil (RGO), rather than the conventional aqueous extract of red ginseng, has been receiving much attention due to accumulating evidence of its functional and pharmacological potential. In this review, we describe the key extraction technologies, chemical composition, potential health benefits, and safety of RGO. This review emphasizes the proposed molecular mechanisms by which RGO is involved in various bioactivities. RGO is mainly produced using organic solvents or supercritical fluid extraction, with the choice of method greatly affecting the yield and quality of the end products. RGO contains a high unsaturated fatty acid levels along with considerable amounts of lipophilic components such as phytosterols, tocopherols, and polyacetylenes. The beneficial health properties of RGO include cellular defense, antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, chemoprevention, hair growth promotion, and skin health improvement. We propose several molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways that underlie the bioactivity of RGO. In addition, RGO is regarded as safe and nontoxic. Further studies on RGO must focus on a deeper understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms, composition-functionality relationship, and verification of the bioactivities of RGO in clinical models. This review may provide useful information in the development of RGO-based products in nutraceuticals, functional foods, and functional cosmetics.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.30-45
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• 2007

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.565-569
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• 2009

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different preparation methods on the recovery and quantification of ginsenosides in raw Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer). Eight major ginsenosides ($Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, $Rb_3$, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, and $Rg_1$) were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), after which the recovery and repeatability of the extraction of those ginsenosides using 3 different preparation methods were compared [A. direct extraction (DE) method, hot MeOH extraction/evaporation/direct dissolution; B. solid phase extraction (SPE) method, hot MeOH extraction/evaporation/dissolution/$C_{18}$ cartridge adsorption/MeOH elution; C. liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method, hot MeOH extraction/evaporation/dissolution/n-BuOH fractionation]. Use of the DE method resulted in a significantly higher recovery of total ginsenosides than other methods and a relatively clear peak resolution. Use of the SPE and LLE methods resulted in clearer peak resolution, but lower ginsenoside recovery than the DE method. The LLE method showed the lowest ginsenoside recovery and repeatability among the 3 methods. Given that the DE method employed only extraction, evaporation, and a dissolution step (avoiding complicate and time consuming purification), this technique may be an effective method for the preparation and quantification of ginsenosides from raw Korean ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2010

Response surface methodology was used to predict the optimum conditions of explosive puffing process for ginseng. A central composite design was used to monitor the effect of moisture content and puffing pressure on dependent variables such as functional compounds (extract yield, crude saponin, acidic polysaccharide, and total phenolic content) and sensory properties. Correlation coefficients $(R^2)$ of models for crude saponin, acidic polysaccharide, and total phenolic content were 0.9176 (p<0.05), 0.9494 (p<0.05), and 0.9878 (p<0.001), respectively. Functional compounds increased with decreasing moisture content and increasing puffing pressure. Overall palatability was high at 15-20% moisture content and 98-294 kPa of puffing pressure. On the basis of superimposed contour maps for functional compounds and overall palatability of puffed ginseng, the optimum ranges of puffing conditions were 10-17% moisture content and 294-392 kPa puffing pressure.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.454-459
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to investigate the perception of ginseng and ginseng products among university students living in Yeongsu, Ganwon-do. 196 university students participated in the survey for our study. The ginseng intakes of male students(59.1%) was significantly(p<0.05) higher than the intake of female students(40.9%). The primary reasons for consuming ginseng were to "Maintain my [one's] health" and to, "Restore my [one's] energy". The reasons for not consuming ginseng were "Taste" and, "Physical constitution". Consumers purchased the following ginseng products at the market: For males, ginseng wine(21.7%), ginseng beverage(17.4%), ginseng candy(17.4%) and ginseng kimchi(17.4%) for females, Korean ginseng snacks(23.3%), ginseng yogurt(20.9%), ginseng candy(14.0%), and ginseng jelly(11.6%).

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.747-755
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• 2020

Background: Ginsenosides accumulation responses to temperature are critical to quality formation in cold-dependent American ginseng. However, the studies on cold requirement mechanism relevant to ginsenosides have been limited in this species. Methods: Two experiments were carried out: one was a multivariate linear regression analysis between the ginsenosides accumulation and the environmental conditions of American ginseng from different sites of China and the other was a synchronous determination of ginsenosides accumulation, overall DNA methylation, and relative gene expression in different tissues during different developmental stages of American ginseng after experiencing different cold exposure duration treatments. Results: Results showed that the variation of the contents as well as the yields of total and individual ginsenosides Rg1, Re, and Rb1 in the roots were closely associated with environmental temperature conditions which implied that the cold environment plays a decisive role in the ginsenoside accumulation of American ginseng. Further results showed that there is a cyclically reversible dynamism between methylation and demethylation of DNA in the perennial American ginseng in response to temperature seasonality. And sufficient cold exposure duration in winter caused sufficient DNA demethylation in tender leaves in early spring and then accompanied the high expression of flowering gene PqFT in flowering stages and ginsenosides biosynthesis gene PqDDS in green berry stages successively, and finally, maximum ginsenosides accumulation occurred in the roots of American ginseng. Conclusion: We, therefore, hypothesized that cold-induced DNA methylation changes might regulate relative gene expression involving both plant development and plant secondary metabolites in such cold-dependent perennial plant species.

• The Korean Ginseng Research and Industry
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.12-16
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• 2016