Ethanolic fermentation from red ginseng extract using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis

Abstract

The pH of red ginseng extracts fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis decreased rapidly during 3 days of fermentation, with no further significant change thereafter. After 20 days of fermentation, a relatively small difference remained in the acidity of extracts fermented with S. cerevisiae (0.54%) and S. carlsbergensis (0.58%). Reducing sugar in the S. cerevisiae and S. carlsbergensis extracts decreased from 258.6 to 45.4 and 43.2 mg/mL glucose equivalents, respectively; and ethanol contents increased from 1.5% at day 0 to 16.0 and 15.0%, respectively, at day 20. Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Re, Rf, and Rg1 decreased during the fermentation with S. cerevisiae, but Rd and Rg3 increased by day 12. Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Re, and Rg1 decreased gradually in the extract with S. carlsbergensis, but Rd and Rg3 were increased at day 6 and 9, respectively.