Physicochemical characteristics and ginsenoside content of Korean traditional wine produced by fermentation of Panax ginseng sprouts

Abstract

Panax ginseng sprouts are well known for their high ginsenoside content and are free from pesticide contamination. Therefore, we made liquor from Panax ginseng sprouts using different methods of fermentation: using ground Panax ginseng sprouts (GP), using an aqueous extract of Panax ginseng sprouts at 50±3℃ (WEP), and using an enzyme hydrolyzed extract of Panax ginseng sprouts (EEP), along with a control reaction using no Panax ginseng sprouts (CO). We evaluated physicochemical characteristics to define the optimal fermentation conditions. Our results showed that acidity, total phenol content, and ABTS radical scavenging activity increased and the pH and reducing sugar content decreased as fermentation progressed. The content of the ginsenoside Re was the highest, followed by Rg1 and Rh1; the other ginsenosides were present in minimal amount. Total ginsenoside content of WEP was higher than that of GP, EEP, and CP on the 6 th day of fermentation. These data indicated that the physicochemical changes are similar between the various methods of Panax ginseng sprout liquor fermentation; however, aqueous extracts at 50℃ are the most ideal substrates to obtain a high ginsenoside content.