The commercial use of Panax ginseng berries is increasing as P. ginseng berries are known to contain large amounts of ginsenosides, and many pharmacological activities have been reported for the various ginsenosides. For the proper use of P. ginseng berries, it is necessary to study efficient and accurate quality control and the profiling of the overall composition of each cultivar. Ginseng berry samples from seven cultivars (Eumseung, Chung-buk Province, Republic of Korea) were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) for profiling of the ginsenosides, and high-resolution magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS NMR) spectroscopy for profiling of the primary metabolites. Comparing twenty-six ginsenoside profiles between the variant representatives and between the violet-stem variant, Kumpoong and Sunwon were classified. In the case of primary metabolites, the cultivars Kumpoong and Gopoong were classified. As a result of correlation analyses of the primary and secondary metabolites, in the Gopoong cultivar, the metabolism was found to lean toward energy metabolism rather than ginsenoside synthesis, and accumulation of osmolytes was low. The Gopoong cultivar had higher levels of most of the amino acids, such as arginine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, threonine, and valine, and it contained the highest level of choline and the lowest level of myo-inositol. Except for these, there were no significant differences of primary metabolites. In the Kumpoong cultivar, the protopanaxatriol (PPT)-type ginsenosides, ginsenoside Re and ginsenoside Rg2, were much lower than in the other cultivars, while the other PPT-type ginsenosides were inversely found in much higher amounts than in other cultivars. The Sunwon cultivar showed that variations of PPT-type ginsenosides were significantly different between samples. However, the median values of PPT-type ginsenosides of Sunwon showed similar levels to those of Kumpoong. The difference in primary metabolites used for metabolism for survival was found to be small in our results. Our data demonstrated the characteristics of each cultivar using profiling data of the primary and secondary metabolites, especially for Gopoong, Kumpoong, and Sunwon. These profiling data provided important information for further research and commercial use.

BackgroundThe geographical origin of Panax ginseng Meyer, a valuable medicinal plant, is important to both ginseng producers and consumers in the context of economic profit and human health benefits. We, therefore, aimed to discriminate between the cultivation regions of ginseng using the stable isotope ratios of C, N, O, and S, which are abundant bioelements in living organisms.MethodsSix Korean ginseng cultivars (3-yr-old roots) were collected from five different regions in Korea. The C, N, O, and S stable isotope ratios in ginseng roots were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry, and then these isotope ratio profiles were statistically analyzed using chemometrics.ResultsThe various isotope ratios found in P. ginseng roots were significantly influenced by region, cultivar, and the interactions between these two factors (p ≤ 0.001). The variation in δ15N and δ13C in ginseng roots was significant for discriminating between different ginseng cultivation regions, and δ18O and δ34S were also affected by both altitude and proximity to coastal areas. Chemometric model results tested in this study provided discrimination between the majority of different cultivation regions. Based on the external validation, this chemometric model also showed good model performance (R2 = 0.853 and Q2 = 0.738).ConclusionOur case study elucidates the variation of C, N, O, and S stable isotope ratios in ginseng root depending on cultivation region. Hence, the analysis of stable isotope ratios is a suitable tool for discrimination between the regional origins of ginseng samples from Korea, with potential application to other countries.

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Artificial selection of ginseng has been practiced since Hwangsook (with yellow pericarp and a green stalk, and was developed from a landrace parent) and Cheonggyeong (with red pericarp) were selected as breeding lines in 1926. Systematic research into ginseng breeding, however, started in earnest in the 1960s when the Central Research Institute of Monopoly and Technology (CRIMT) was established, and the Korean Ginseng Experiment Station was organized under the CRIMT. Research into variant characteristics, resource collections, and genetic evaluations began around this time. With the establishment of the Korean Ginseng Institute in the 1970s, studies involving pedigree selection, cataloguing of agricultural traits of genetic resources, generation shortening by tissue culture, and heritability assessments were conducted. In the 1980s, regional adaptation tests were carried out on breeding lines, focusing on ginseng-producing districts. In the 1990s, research was performed on seed multiplication for variety diffusion, effective components and processing quality, and cross breeding. Foreign ginsengs were introduced for interspecies hybridization, and studies were conducted using genetic engineering techniques. Since the 2000s, applications have been made to patent different ginseng cultivars. Currently, 32 cultivars are registered at the Korea Seed & Variety Service. Future goals for ginseng breeding include developing climate change-and disaster-resistant, consumer-oriented, high-performance cultivars. Therefore, it is necessary to develop technologies for distributing new cultivars by collecting and evaluating genetic resources, and cross breeding and performing mass propagation using these resources.

: Recently ginseng farmers are demanding ginseng varieties having resistance to disasters to cope with climate change. Thus, it is essential to develop new varieties which have resistance to heat and physiological disorders to stably produce ginseng. 'Cheonryang' is a new ginseng variety developed from a Yeoju line of high yielding and salt resistance. This variety was selected in the farmer's field by the ginseng breeding team of Department of Herbal Crop Research, NIHHS, RDA. It shows red leaf senescence at maturing, red berry and convex leaflet shape in cross section. The time of emergence, flowering and berry maturity of the 'Cheonryang' is 2, 3, 5 days faster than those of 'Chunpoong'. Stem length of 'Cheonryang' is 2.3 cm shorter than that of 'Chunpoong', as 41.3 cm but stem diameter is l.0 cm thicker than that of 'Chunpoong', as 6.4 cm. It shows similar total weight to total root and main root length compared to 'Chunpoong' and main root diameter is thicker 5.3 mm than that of 'Chunpoong'. Number of seeds of 'Cheonryang' is fewer than that of 'Chunpoong' but 1,000-grain weight and stratification rate are higher than those of 'Chunpoong'. The yield performance of this variety was 536 kg/10a in local adaptability test for two years, is 12% higher than that of 'Chunpoong'. It is resistant to damping-off, anthracnose, phytophthora blight, root rot, mulberry mealybug and nematode, mediate resistant for alternaria blight. Yellow spot of aerial part and red skin rarely observed of root, 'Cheonryang' shows moderate resistance at high temperatures.