Ginseng Tea Research Articles

Growth and Synthesis of Aflatoxin by Aspergillus parasificus in the Presence of Ginseng Products

Red ginseng saponin (0.36%) inhibited mycelial growth, sporulation and aflatoxin production by Aspergillus parasificus during 9 d at 28°C. The mold caused no change in pH of the medium when it contained red ginseng saponin or ginseng tea (9%). Most ginseng products permitted mycelial growth and production of aflatoxin B1, but inhibited production of aflatoxin G1. However, when compared to the control, aflatoxin production by A. parasiticus was reduced by the presence in the medium of most of the ginseng products that were tested, Ginseng tea (9%) resulted in a higher index of maximum accumulation of aflatoxins per interval of mold growth than occurred in the control. Red ginseng was more effective than white ginseng for inhibiting mold growth and aflatoxin production.

On the Determination of Benzoic Acid in Imported Korean Ginseng Tea and Dried Chinese Bamboo Shoot in Relation to the Pursuit of its Origin

Four extraction-cleanup procedures, i. e., liquid-liquid extraction using ether (Method A), steam distillation (Method B), modified steam distillation (Method C) and alkaline hydrolysis (Method D), were tested for the gas-liquid chromatographic determination of benzoic acid in Korean ginseng tea and dried Chinese bamboo shoots. The lowest values were obtained by Method A. Those obtained by Method B were a little higher while the results with Method C increased with increase in the volume of the distillate. The highest values were obtained by Method D, the results being 5.1-32.6 times larger than those obtained by Method A. It is presumed that only free benzoic acid is extracted by Method A, while both free benzoic acid and combined benzoate could be extracted by Method D. The results of Methods B and C indicate that a part of the combined benzoate was decomposed into free benzoic acid during steam distillation. Since artificially added benzoic acid as well as its sodium salt would be present in the free form in these foods while most of the naturally occurring benzoates would be in combined form, it is recommended to apply both Methods A and D for the differentiation of artificially added benzoic acid and benzoate from naturally occurring food ingredients. Combined benzoate was provisionally calculated by subtracting the value obtained by Method A from that obtained by Method D. The absence of free benzoic acid or benzoate in food shows that these substances have not been artificially added. Steam distillation methods seem to be inappropriate, as mentioned above.

Quantitative analysis of dammarane type saponins of ginseng and its application to the evaluation of the commercial Ginseng tea and Ginseng extract (author's transl)

On hydrolysis with dilute mineral acid, Ginseng saponins, ginsenosides-Rb1, -Rb2, -Rb3, -Rc, and -Rd yielded panaxadiol (IV), and ginsenosides-Re, -Rf, -Rg1, and -Rg2 and 20-glucoginsenoside-Rf afforded panaxatriol (X). The optimal condition of saponinhydrolysis for the quantitative analysis of IV and X was studied. The crude hydrolysates of methanol extract of Ginseng were trimethylsilylated with N-trimethylsilylimidazole and the saponin content was calibrated by the gas chromatographic determination of TMS-panaxadiol and TMS-panaxatriol, using diacetylhederagenin methyl ester as the internal standard. This procedure was applied to the evaluation of the commercial "Ginseng Tea" and "Ginseng Extract."