Changes in Concentrations of Ginsenosides and Free Amino Acids in Ginseng and Ginseng Solution during the Jung Kwa Process

摘要

This study was carried out to investigate the quality characteristics of Jung Kwa ginseng (JKG) and Jung Kwa ginseng solution (JKGS) prepared according to the boiling frequency of the Jung Kwa Process. JKG was made as follows: 8 kg of washed ginseng was boiled for 5 min with 16 L water from which 8 L boiling water was removed. 10 kg sucrose was added to the remaining boiled ginseng soaking in hot water. JKG was boiled for 60 min in sugar syrup and soaked for 24 hrs repeating the boiling process 5 times. After the final process the crude saponin content of Jung Kwa (JKG 6) increased 4-fold more, while the ginsenoside Rf and Rd contents increased 77- and 16-fold more than raw ginseng, respectively. The content of crude saponin in the second last JKG solution (JKGS 5) was 61.88 mg/g. Others ginsenosides in JKG decreased. As increasing the number of times boiled, crude protein and total free amino acid contents decreased 84.9 and 94.7% of raw ginseng in JKG but increased 98.2 and 78.9% in JKGS, respectively. Especially, the arginine content of JKG 6 decreased 49.18-fold more than raw ginseng while y-aminobutyric acid and two unknown compounds, not present in fresh, untreated ginseng, were formed as intermediate products during Jung Kwa processing. Thegamma-aminobutyric acid content was 34.13 mg/100 g in JKG 6. In addition, unknown compound 1 was formed more than unknown compound 2 in JKG while unknown compound 2 was formed more than unknown compound 1 in JKGS.