Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate a point of difference between normal and inferior Korean red ginseng (Naeback red ginseng = red ginseng with white part of clear boundary in phloem and/or xylem of ginseng body, saengnaeback red ginseng red ginseng with white part of indistinct boundary). White part with clear or indistinct boundary in center of ginseng body was observed in inferior red ginseng (naeback and saengnaeback red ginseng), and the differences in the internal color intensity was also found with naked eye. In hunter color values of normal and inferior parts of red ginseng in accordance with particle size, L value was increased with a diminishment in particle size, while a and b value were decreased. Absorbance at visible spectrum did not differ from water and 70% ethanol extract from normal and inferior parts of red ginseng, but absorbance in UV spectrum of extract from naeback part showed higher than those of normal and saengnaeback part. In comparison of intrastructure by electron microscope, the horizontal and vertical section of cortex and pith layer from normal part showed the very dense state, but small holes were found in naeback part of red ginseng by naked eye and electron microscope. The specific surface area of normal, naeback and saengnaeback part appeared 3.02, 3.33 and 6.55 ㎡/g, respectively. From above results, we consider saengnaeback red ginseng is red ginseng in the intermediate process which normal red ginseng changes to naeback red ginseng.

Keywords

• Histological characteristics;
• Koreanred ginseng;
• maeback and saengnaeback part;
• color intensity;
• electron microscope;
• specific surface area