Ryu Jebin, Lee Hun Wook, Yoon Junho, Seo Bumjoon, Kwon Dong Eui, Shin Un-Moo, Choi Kwang-Joon, Lee Youn-Woo
School of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
NextBio Co. Ltd., Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Ginseng Res. 2017 Oct;41(4):572-577. doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2016.12.002. Epub 2016 Dec 8.
Meyer is cultivated because of its medicinal effects on the immune system, blood pressure, and cancer. Major ginsenosides in fresh ginseng are converted to minor ginsenosides by structural changes such as hydrolysis and dehydration. The transformed ginsenosides are generally more bioavailable and bioactive than the primary ginsenosides. Therefore, in this study, hydrothermal processing was applied to ginseng preparation to increase the yields of the transformed ginsenosides, such as 20(S)-Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5, and enhance antioxidant activities in an effective way.
Ginseng extract was hydrothermally processed using batch reactors at 100-160°C with differing reaction times. Quantitative analysis of the ginsenoside yields was performed using HPLC, and the antioxidant activity was qualitatively analyzed by evaluating 2,2'-azino-bis radical cation scavenging, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging, and phenolic antioxidants. Red ginseng and sun ginseng were prepared by conventional steaming as the control group.
Unlike steaming, the hydrothermal process was performed under homogeneous conditions. Chemical reaction, heat transfer, and mass transfer are generally more efficient in homogeneous reactions. Therefore, maximum yields for the hydrothermal process were 2.5-25 times higher than those for steaming, and the antioxidant activities showed 1.6-4-fold increases for the hydrothermal process. Moreover, the reaction time was decreased from 3 h to 15-35 min using hydrothermal processing.
Therefore, hydrothermal processing offers significant improvements over the conventional steaming process. In particular, at temperatures over 140°C, high yields of the transformed ginsenosides and increased antioxidant activities were obtained in tens of minutes.
人参因其对免疫系统、血压和癌症的药用功效而被种植。新鲜人参中的主要人参皂苷通过水解和脱水等结构变化转化为次要人参皂苷。转化后的人参皂苷通常比原生人参皂苷具有更高的生物利用度和生物活性。因此，在本研究中，采用水热法处理人参制剂，以提高转化型人参皂苷（如20(S)-Rg3、Rk1和Rg5）的产量，并有效增强抗氧化活性。
使用间歇式反应器在100-160°C下对人参提取物进行水热处理，并设置不同的反应时间。采用高效液相色谱法对人参皂苷产量进行定量分析，并通过评估2,2'-偶氮二异丁腈阳离子自由基清除能力、2,2-二苯基-1-苦基肼自由基清除能力和酚类抗氧化剂对抗氧化活性进行定性分析。以传统蒸制的红参和生晒参作为对照组。
与蒸制不同，水热过程是在均相条件下进行的。均相反应中的化学反应、传热和传质通常更高效。因此，水热法的最大产量比蒸制法高2.5-25倍，水热法的抗氧化活性提高了1.6-4倍。此外，采用水热法处理时，反应时间从3小时缩短至15-35分钟。
因此，水热法比传统蒸制法有显著改进。特别是在140°C以上的温度下，几十分钟内就能获得高产率的转化型人参皂苷并提高抗氧化活性。
