Ultra High Pressure Extraction (UHPE) of Ginsenosides from Korean Panax ginseng Powder

Abstract

To elucidate the potential of ultra high pressure (UHP) processing on ginseng, effect of UHP on extraction yield, crude saponin content, and ginsenoside contents of ginseng powder was investigated. Ginseng slurries (70, 80, and 90% moisture content) were put into a retortable pouch then hermetically sealed. These mixtures were pressurized at room temperature up to 600 MPa for 5-15 min. UHP ginseng showed relatively higher extraction yield (312.2-387.1 mg) and amounts of crude saponins (19.3-32.6 mg/g ginseng) than control ginseng (189.9 and 17.5 mg/g ginseng, respectively). Correlation coefficient between extraction yield and crude saponin content was relatively low (R-2=0.2908). In high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, amounts of measured total ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re, and Rg1) increased with UHP processing but pressure level and pressing time did not proportionally influence the ginsenosides content. This work shows a potential of UHP processing on extraction of ginseng powder and provides basic information on UHP extraction of ginseng powder.