A Study on the Analysis of Amino Acids in Korean Ginseng

The contents of amino acids were examined in the 3, 4, 5, and 6 year-old roots of fresh ginseng and the 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982 years' products of white and red ginsengs. Samples extracted with 75% ethanol for free amino acids and hydrolyzed with 6N-HCL for total amino acids were analyzed by Amino Acid Analyzer (Hitachi model KLA-5). The results were summarized as follows: 1. Amino acids from extracted samples were 18 kinds of Tryptophan, Lysine, Histidine, Arginine, Aspartic acid, Threonine, Serine, Glutamic acid, Proline, Glycine, Alanine, Cystine, Valine, Methionine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Tyrosine, and Phenylalanine. 2. Amino acids detected in hydrolyzed samples were 17 kinds execpt Tryptophan of extracted ones. 3. Arginine was the highest quantity of amino acids in ginseng. 4. The content of Tryptophan was 0.5690 mg/g in the 6 year-old fresh ginseng and trace quantities in other samples. 5. The contents of amino acids were increased in fresh ginseng according to cultivation year. 6. The contents of amino acids in white ginseng were slightly decreased but those in red ginseng were not changed during the storage time. 7. The content ratio of free amino acids to total amino acids were 1:3.