The effect of extrusion conditions on the acidic polysaccharide, ginsenoside contents and antioxidant properties of extruded Korean red ginseng

Increases in Ginsenoside Rg3, Compound K, and Antioxidant Activity of Cultivated Wild Panax Ginseng (CWPG) by Puffing

Cultivated wild Panax ginseng (CWPG) has been reported to have a higher content of ginsenoside than normal Panax ginseng. This study was carried out to increase the antioxidant activity and active ingredients by the puffing process. Therefore, effects of moisture content and pressure conditions on the antioxidant activity and active ingredients of CWPG were investigated. Extraction yield and crude saponin content were decreased at all moisture contents with increasing pressure. HPLC analysis showed that the contents of ginsenoside Rg3 and compound K were increased by puffing when the pressure increased. Antioxidant properties, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were increased by puffing. The correlation between color change and antioxidant activity showed the greatest correlation with the decrease of L value. It is expected that the progress of this study will play an important role in the international market of high-value-added food using CWPG.

Fortification of ready-to-eat extruded snacks with tree bean powder: nutritional, antioxidant, essential amino acids, and sensory properties

Nutrition-rich extruded snacks were developed from a mixture of cornflour, Bengal gram flour fortified by tree bean (TB) powder (0, 5, and 10%) using a twin-screw extruder. The nutritional, antioxidant, and amino acid profile and structural, functional, and sensory properties of the ready-to-eat (RTE) extruded snacks were evaluated. Ash, protein, and fiber content in TB-fortified extrudates were increased, whereas nitrogen-free extract was decreased. Total phenolics (2.34 mg g^-1 FW), ascorbate (2.23 mg g^-1 FW), total flavonoids (0.16 mg g^-1 FW), and reduced glutathione (8.53 µM g^-1 FW) were higher in the extrudates with 10% TB powder. Similarly, RTE extruded snacks fortified by 10% TB exhibited higher DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, hydroxyl radical activities, reducing power, and essential amino acids, such as lysine, leucine, isoleucine, cysteine, threonine, tyrosine, and methionine derived by HPLC. Extrudates fortified by 5% TB powder exhibited better microstructure through scanning electron microscopy. However, 10% TB powder possessed higher physicochemical properties and overall sensory attributes. This study reveals the tremendous industrial potential of nutrient-rich RTE extruded snacks fortified by underutilized TB (10%).

Graphic abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05251-w.

Chemical Comparison of White Ginseng before and after Extrusion by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS and Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography Quadrupole-Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS) was used to compare the composition of ginsenosides in white ginseng (WG) and extruded white ginseng (EWG). A total of 45 saponins, including original neutral ginsenosides, malonyl-ginsenosides, and chemical transformation of ginsenosides, were successfully identified in both WG and EWG. Multivariate statistical analyses including supervised orthogonal partial least squared discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) were used to analyze components of white ginseng before and after extrusion. As a result, three ginsenosides (malonyl (M)-Rb1, M-Rb2, and M-Rc) were found to be increased in WG, while three ginsenosides (Rb2, Rc, and Rg1) were elevated in EWG. In the OPLS-DA S-plot, the different compositions of ginsenoside that were distinguished between WG and EWG were screened out. Experimental results indicate that the UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS/MS is a useful tool to characterize variations of ginsenosides in WG and EWG.

Effects of extrusion conditions on chemical properties of extruded white ginseng root hair

BACKGROUND

This study was to investigate the significant effects of extrusion process variables on chemical properties of extruded white ginseng root hair. The extrusion conditions were set as follows: barrel temperature (110 and 140 °C), moisture content (20 and 30%) and screw speed (200 and 300 rpm). The powder of white ginseng root hair was extruded as L₈ (2⁷ ) orthogonal experimental design.

RESULTS

The crude saponin and acidic polysaccharide contents of extrudate were significantly higher than those of raw material after extrusion. In addition, antioxidant properties were also increased, while reducing sugar content was markedly lower than that of raw material. Moisture content was the most significant factor affecting the reducing sugar, acidic polysaccharide and total phenolic contents, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl scavenging activity. Barrel temperature significantly affected reducing power, and screw speed significantly influenced crude saponin content.

CONCLUSIONS

The extrusion process aided in improving the amount of beneficial compounds from white ginseng root hair. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

A comparative study on chemical composition of total saponins extracted from fermented and white ginseng under the effect of macrophage phagocytotic function

In this study, white ginseng was used as the raw material, which was fermented with Paecilomyces hepiali through solid culture medium, to produce ginsenosides with modified chemical composition. The characteristic chemical markers of the products thus produced were investigated using rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC–QTOF–MS). Chemical profiling data were obtained, which were then subjected to multivariate statistical analysis for the systematic comparison of active ingredients in white ginseng and fermented ginseng to understand the beneficial properties of ginsenoside metabolites. In addition, the effects of these components on biological activity were investigated to understand the improvements in the phagocytic function of macrophages in zebrafish. According to the established RRLC–QTOF–MS chemical profiling, the contents in ginsenosides of high molecular weight, especially malonylated protopanaxadiol ginsenosides, were slightly reduced due to the fermentation, which were hydrolyzed into rare and minor ginsenosides. Moreover, the facilitation of macrophage phagocytic function in zebrafish following treatment with different ginseng extracts confirmed that the fermented ginseng is superior to white ginseng. Our results prove that there is a profound change in chemical constituents of ginsenosides during the fermentation process, which has a significant effect on the biological activity of these compounds.

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detector and Electrospray Ionization Ion Trap Time-of-Flight Tandem Mass Spectrometry to Evaluate Ginseng Roots and Rhizomes from Different Regions

Ginseng, Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, is an industrial crop in China and Korea. The functional components in ginseng roots and rhizomes are characteristic ginsenosides. This work developed a new high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization ion trap time-of-flight multistage mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS(n)) method to identify the triterpenoids. Sixty compounds (1-60) including 58 triterpenoids were identified from the ginseng cultivated in China. Substances 1, 2, 7, 15-20, 35, 39, 45-47, 49, 55-57, 59, and 60 were identified for the first time. To evaluate the quality of ginseng cultivated in Northeast China, this paper developed a practical liquid chromatography-diode array detection (LC-DAD) method to simultaneously quantify 14 interesting ginsenosides in ginseng collected from 66 different producing areas for the first time. The results showed the quality of ginseng roots and rhizomes from different sources was different due to growing environment, cultivation technology, and so on. The developed LC-ESI-IT-TOF-MS(n) method can be used to identify many more ginsenosides and the LC-DAD method can be used not only to assess the quality of ginseng, but also to optimize the cultivation conditions for the production of ginsenosides.

Induction of Thioredoxin Reductase 1 by Korean Red Ginseng Water Extract Regulates Cytoprotective Effects on Human Endothelial Cells

Korean Red Ginseng is a popular herbal medicine and is widely used in many food products. KRG has biological benefits related to vascular diseases including diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other cardiac diseases and KRG has antioxidant and anti-hyperlipidemic actions. KRG decreases the level of oxidative stress and suppresses proinflammatory cytokines and cell adhesion molecules, thus protecting endothelial dysfunction. Mammalian Thioredoxin reductase 1 is an NADPH-dependent selenoprotein, essential for antioxidant defense and DNA synthesis and repair, that regulates the redox system by modulating redox-sensitive transcription factors and thiol-containing proteins. Here, we show that KRG water extract increases the expression of TrxR1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells via the p38 and PKC-δ signaling pathways. The induction of TrxR1 expression by KRG was confirmed by Western blot analysis and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. However, the increase in TrxR1 expression was abolished by specific silencing of the p38 and PKC-δ genes. In addition, we demonstrated that auranofin, a TrxR1 inhibitor, weakens the protective effect of KRG against H₂O₂-induced cell death as measured by the terminal transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. These results suggest that KRG may have protective effects in vascular diseases by upregulating TrxR1 in endothelial cells, thereby inhibiting the generation of reactive oxygen species and cell death.

Red Ginseng and Semen Coicis can improve the structure of gut microbiota and relieve the symptoms of ulcerative colitis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Many Chinese herbs are traditionally used as medicine to improve the functions of gastrointestinal tract. Some of these herbs are also promising agents for the improvement of the gut microbiota and the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

By screening seven traditional Chinese herbs, we found that Red Ginseng and Semen Coicis were the most effective in promoting the growth of probiotics including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium in vitro. We then evaluated the effects of Red Ginseng and Semen Coicis on the growth of the bacterial pathogens (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp.) in vitro. In in vivo experiment, we gavage administrated trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid induced ulcerative colitis (UC) rats with Red Ginseng and Semen Coicis extracts. After two weeks treatment, we analyzed the structure of the gut microbiota and examined the UC symptoms by employing qPCR and animal pathology detection techniques.

RESULTS

Both Red Ginseng and Semen Coicis promoted the growth of probiotics - Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in vitro. Red Ginseng also inhibited the growth of some pathogen strains. In vivo, Red Ginseng and Semen Coicis improved the structure of gut microbiota and relieved the symptoms of ulcerative colitis in vivo. Compared with Semen Coicis, Red Ginseng was more effective in relieving the symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

CONCLUSIONS

Red Ginseng could promote the growth of probiotic bacteria in vitro. Red Ginseng and, to a lesser extent Semen Coicis, gave positive results in an experimental in vivo model for ulcerative colitis.

Optimization of alkaline extraction and bioactivities of polysaccharides from rhizome of Polygonatum odoratum

The present study is to explore the optimal extraction parameters, antioxidant activity, and antimicrobial activity of alkaline soluble polysaccharides from rhizome of Polygonatum odoratum. The optimal extraction parameters were determined as the following: NaOH concentration (A) 0.3 M, temperature (B) 80°C, ratio of NaOH to solid (C) 10-fold, and extraction time (D) 4 h, in which ratio of NaOH to solid was a key factor. The order of the factors was ratio of NaOH to solid (fold, C) > extraction temperature (°C, B) > NaOH concentration (M, A) > extraction time (h, D). The monosaccharide compositions of polysaccharides from P. odoratum were rhamnose, mannose, xylose, and arabinose with the molecular ratio of 31.78, 31.89, 11.11, and 1.00, respectively. The reducing power, the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) radical scavenging rate, the hydroxyl radicals scavenging rate, and the inhibition rate to polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) peroxidation of the alkaline soluble polysaccharides from P. odoratum at 1 mg/mL were 9.81%, 52.84%, 19.22%, and 19.42% of ascorbic acid at the same concentration, respectively. They also showed antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Escherichia coli.