Quality of Korean ginseng
dried by a prototype continuous flow dryer
using far infrared radiation and hot air
M.H. Kim1, S.M. Kim1, C.S. Kim1, S.J. Park1, C.H. Lee1 and J.Y. Rhee2
1
Division of Bioresource Systems Engineering, College of Agriculture (The Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology),
Chonbuk National University, Chonju, Chonbuk 561-756; 2Division of Biological Resources and Materials Engineering, College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Suwon, Kyunggi 441-744, Republic of Korea.
Kim, M.H., Kim, S.M., Kim, C.S., Park, S.J., Lee, C.H. and Rhee, J.Y.
2002. Quality of Korean ginseng dried by a prototype continuous
flow dryer using far infrared radiation and hot air. Canadian
Biosystems Engineering/Le génie des biosystèmes au Canada 44: 3.47-
3.54. This study was performed to examine the effects of infrared
(IR)/hot-air combination drying on some quality attributes of Korean
white ginseng. Medium-sized ginseng roots were dried in a dryer
where both the far infrared radiation and hot air were available as
energy sources for drying. Diametral shrinkage, external color, total
saponin content, and ginsenosides and free sugar composition of the
IR/hot-air combination dried ginseng were measured and compared
with those of commercial white ginseng products. The external color
became lower in lightness and higher in saturation as the IR radiating
plate temperature increased. IR/hot-air combination dried white
ginseng at IR plate temperature of 100oC was comparable to the
commercial white ginseng products in color characteristics. Diametral
shrinkage ratios of ginseng roots during drying ranged from 20 to 36%
and appeared to be independent of the different drying methods used
in the study. No definite evidence could be found whether the IR/hot-
air combination drying and the conventional hot-air drying practice
resulted in white ginseng having different ginsenoside contents and
compositions. IR/hot-air combination dried ginseng showed a decrease
in sucrose content and an increase in fructose, glucose, and especially
maltose content as the IR plate temperature increased. No conclusion
could be made on whether the various drying treatments used in the
study affected the free sugar contents and compositions of white
ginseng. Keywords: white ginseng, infrared drying, external color
characteristic, shrinkage ratio, saponin and free sugar components.
Cette étude a été réalisée pour vérifier les effets du séchage
combinant le rayonnement infrarouge et l'air chaud (IR/air chaud) sur
quelques paramètres de qualité du ginseng blanc coréen. Des racines
de ginseng de taille moyenne ont été séchées dans un séchoir où des
radiations infrarouge éloignées et de l'air chaud étaient utilisées pour
le séchage. La réduction du diamètre des racines, leur couleur externe,
le contenu total en saporine et la composition en ginsénosides et en
sucre libre du ginseng séché avec la combinaison IR/air chaud ont été
mesurés et comparés avec ceux d'autres produits de ginseng blanc
commerciaux. La couleur externe a diminué en luminosité et a
augmenté en saturation avec une augmentation de la température de la
plaque de radiation IR. Le ginseng blanc séché avec la combinaison
IR/air chaud à une température de plaque de radiation IR de 100/C
était comparable, pour ses charactéristiques de couleur, aux produits
commerciaux de ginseng blanc. Les ratios de rétricissement diamétral
des racines de ginseng durant le séchage ont varié de 20 à 36% et ont
semblé être indépendant des différentes méthodes de séchage utilisées
Volume 44 2002 CANADIAN BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
dans l'étude. Aucun résultat n'a pu démontrer de différences au niveau
de la composition et du contenu en ginsénoside entre le séchage par la
combinaison IR/air chaud et les pratiques de séchage conventionnel à
l'air chaud. Une diminution du contenu en sucrose et une augmentation
des contenus en fructose, glucose et particulièrement en maltose ont été
observées chez le ginseng séché avec la combinaison IR/air chaud lors
de l'augmentation de la température de la plaque IR. Aucune
conclusion ne peut être tirée quant à l'impact des différents traitements
utilisés durant cette étude sur le contenu et la composition en sucre
libre du ginseng blanc. Mots clés: ginseng blanc, séchage à
l'infrarouge, charactéristique de couleur externe, ratio de
rétrécissement, composés de saponine et de sucre libre.
INTRODUCTION
Ginseng is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Araliaceae family
that is cultivated for its highly valued root. In many Asian
countries, ginseng is generally not used for the cure or
prevention of specific diseases but as a tonic. Ginseng is also
gaining popularity as a health food throughout the world.
Ginseng roots contain chemical constituents called saponin
glycosides or ginsenosides that are claimed to be responsible for
many medical effects such as promotion of basic metabolism,
recovery from fatigue, defense against stress, activation of the
central nerves, development of resistance to cancer and
diabetes, lowering blood sugar and cholesterol levels,
ameliorating effect on anemia, and the like (Anonymous 1978).
There are many species of ginseng grown in the areas of 30-48o
north latitude such as Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and North
America. Korean ginseng, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, is
generally accepted to have the best overall quality (Anonymous
1994; Ko 1994), and Korea is known to export the greatest
amount of red ginseng products in the world. Ginseng root
reaches marketable size in four to six years and is composed of
a corpulent taproot and two to five ramified roots. It is spindle
or round in shape, 50-100 mm long and up to 40 mm thick.
Raw ginseng roots are processed into various products
which are generally classified into one where the original shape
is somewhat maintained and the other with a new form such as
tea, tablets, extract, powder, jelly, drink, and wine. Among the
former, white ginseng and red ginseng are two major products.
White ginseng is made of raw ginseng roots four years of age or
over, with or without the epidermis, through the processes of
3.47
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the interior of the IR/hot-air combination ginseng dryer.
soil removal, small lateral root trimming, washing, peeling
(optional), drying, grading, and packaging. The color of peeled
white ginseng is light milk-white or egg-white, while those with
their epidermis intact have light yellow or light brown color.
Red ginseng is made by first heating raw ginseng with steam and
then drying it. In the steaming process, the color turns to dark
red and the enzymatic actions and self-consumption are
suppressed so that many useful medical components can be
maintained and kept intact.
The market price of white and red ginseng is based on color,
maturity, size, and shape. Drying of ginseng is thus a significant
process in terms of not only energy consumption, production
capacity, and efficiency, but also the final product quality.
Artificial drying using 40-50oC hot air has been replacing the
traditional sun-drying because of labor shortage and
convenience (Choi et al. 1992). Hot-air drying is a commonly
used practice for the drying of many food products but its
energy consumption is higher than most other drying methods.
Increasing drying air temperature enhances the drying rate and
thus could reduce the energy consumption but generally leads to
a poor product quality. These limitations with hot-air drying
have evolved many novel drying techniques such as vacuum
drying, freeze drying, microwave drying, infrared (IR) radiation
drying, and low-temperature dehumidified air drying for a
variety of agricultural and food products. For the drying of
ginseng, the authors developed a prototype IR/hot-air
combination dryer by which raw ginseng roots could be dried
3.48 LE GÉNIE DES BIOSYSTÈMES AU CANADA
with less energy compared to the conventional hot-air drying
(Park et al. 2000).
The objective of this study is then to examine the differences
in the quality of white ginseng obtained by IR/hot-air
combination drying and conventional hot-air drying.
MATERIALS and METHOD
Materials
Medium-sized (diameter 23-25 mm) four-year old raw ginseng
roots (75% w.b.) grown in Chinan county, Chonbuk province,
Korea were harvested in September 1998 and temporarily stored
in a low-temperature walk-in cooler for two weeks. After small
lateral root trimming and epidermis peeling, they were then
washed and placed in the laboratory at room temperature to
allow residual wash water on the surface to evaporate. The
prepared ginseng samples were then put in vinyl packs and kept
in a refrigerator until used for the drying experiments.
Drying treatments
The IR/hot-air combination dryer used for the drying of ginseng
is shown in Fig. 1 where ginseng roots are to be dried by the
combined or sole application of infrared radiation and hot air
while they are placed on a conveyor belt and pass through the
dryer. Since the surface and center temperatures of the root were
to be measured continuously during drying, the ginseng samples
were dried on a batch mode in this study by not moving the
KIM et al.
conveyor belt of the dryer. Also, only the top drying section was
used for ginseng drying and it was roughly divided into three
zones (Fig. 1) in order to minimize the potential non-uniformity
in the local drying conditions. Three ginseng samples were
placed on each zone.
The temperature of the IR radiating plate could be raised to
250oC and the distance between the IR radiating plates and the
sample was variable between 50 and 70 mm. The top and
bottom drying section each had three air inlets through which
ambient air was introduced and heated by three 2-kW electric
heaters to supply hot drying air, if necessary. Humid air inside
the dryer was exhausted through a single air outlet at the end of
each drying section. The total length, width, and height of the
dryer was 4×0.7×1.6 m, where the effective length and width of
the two-tier drying section was 7 and 0.4 m, respectively.
Except for the surface color tests, 11 drying treatments were
used in this study which consisted of nine IR/hot-air
combination drying and two conventional hot-air drying. For the
two conventional hot-air drying, the electric heater at the air
inlet was turned on to provide either 50 or 60oC drying air while
the IR radiating plate heater was turned off. The nine IR/hot-air
combination drying runs were conducted with three IR radiating
plate heater temperature settings (80, 100, 120oC) and three
drying air heater temperature settings (23, 40, 50oC). In the case
of IR/hot-air combination drying, the actual temperatures of
drying air inside the dryer were higher than the above-
mentioned drying air heater temperature settings due to the
convective heat transfer from the IR radiating plates. The largest
and smallest difference was found to be 43.3oC (IR plate heater
setting: 120oC, drying air heater setting: 23oC) and 11.1oC (IR
plate heater setting: 80oC, drying air heater setting: 50oC),
respectively. Total drying time was 12 hours for all tests and the
drying air velocity was maintained at 0.2 m/s for the IR/hot-air
combination drying and 0.4 m/s for the conventional hot-air
drying treatments.
The temperatures of ambient air, drying air inside the dryer,
and the ginseng samples were measured continuously during the
tests. Type-K thermocouples were inserted at the location
beneath the surface and at the center of the ginseng root prior to
the drying tests. To calculate the average temperature of the
ginseng root center during drying, however, the temperatures of
the ginseng sample for the first two hours were discarded
because of high evaporative cooling effect during that period.
The drying tests were replicated twice. Final moisture contents
of the ginseng samples were determined by drying in a forced
convection oven at 70oC for 48 hours.
Diametral shrinkage and external color measurement
Diametral shrinkage and external color of the ginseng roots after
drying were measured to evaluate the influence of drying
methods and conditions on the physical quality of dried ginseng.
Root diameters at the location approximately 20-30 mm below
the top (butt) end of the root were measured by a calipers in two
directions perpendicular to each other and the average value was
used to calculate the diametral shrinkage ratio with Eq. 1.
shrinkage ratio (%) =
 Average root diameter after drying 
1 −  × 100 (1)
 Average root diameter before drying 
Volume 44 2002 CANADIAN BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
The surface color of the dried ginseng was measured by a
colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-200, N8 mm measuring
head). Measurement on the equally spaced three points along
the circumference at the maximum root diameter yielded
tristimulus value Y and two chromaticity coordinates x and y.
Surface color test samples were obtained from the IR/hot-air
combination drying runs where the IR plate and drying air
heater temperature setting ranges were 80-150oC and 23-60oC,
respectively. Surface color experiments were replicated twice
with a sample size of three roots for each treatment. Also,
commercially available 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade white ginseng
(30-40 roots per each grade) were purchased and included in the
surface color comparison as controls.
Saponin and free sugar components measurement
Effects of drying methods and conditions on the chemical
quality attributes were studied on 13 groups of white ginseng
samples. In addition to the 11 sample groups previously
mentioned, 1st grade commercial white ginseng and white
ginseng mildly dried by conventional hot-air drying in a
laboratory environmental chamber (Model 150L AT/P; Jeio
Tech Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea) at 50oC and 50% relative
humidity for 100 hours were included in the analysis. The
average moisture content of the whole samples was 8.8±1.3%
(w.b.). Dried ginseng roots similar in the size of main root
system (taproot and branch root) were selected and their lateral
and hair roots were removed. They were then crushed and used
for the saponin and free sugar components analysis. Saponin
and free sugar measurement was replicated twice with a sample
size of three roots for each group.
Total saponin and ginsenosides The contents of crude saponin
and individual saponin components in white ginseng were
measured by using the method of Ando et al. (1971). The
crushed sample was first extracted with 80% methanol. The
extract was then filtered and the filtrate was extracted with water
saturated n-butanol. The n-butanol layer was separated and
evaporated under vacuum to obtain crude saponin and its weight
was measured. Specimen for the individual saponin components
analysis were obtained by dissolving this crude saponin in
methanol and filtering through a membrane (0.45:m pore size).
A Waters Model 244 HPLC (Waters Corp., Milford, MA)
equipped with a RI 401 differential refractometer was used for
the ginsenoside analysis. A Lichrosorb-NH2 column (10:m, 4.6
mm ID×250mm; Merck Korea Ltd., Seoul, Korea) was used
with a mixture of acetonitrile/water/n-butanol (80:20:10, v/v) as
a mobile phase.
Free sugar components The content and composition of free
sugars in white ginseng were measured by using the method of
Ko et al. (1996). Crushed white ginseng samples of 5 g was
mixed with four volumes of 80% methanol and extracted by a
reflux condenser four times at 75oC. The extract was filtered and
the filtrate was vacuum-concentrated. The concentrate was
dissolved in distilled water and extracted with ether to remove
the lipid. Next, crude saponin was removed from the solution by
extracting with water saturated n-butanol. The remaining water
layer was concentrated by a rotary evaporator and 10 mL
distilled water was then added to prepare the HPLC sample. The
HPLC system used was a Waters Model 244 equipped with a RI
401 differential refractometer. A Lichrosorb-NH2 column
(10:m, 4 mm ID×250mm; Merck Korea Ltd., Seoul, Korea)
3.49
 0.410 (0.005)
0.386 (0.002)
27.61 (3.54)
Average

0.390 (0.011)
0.381 (0.005)
42.30 (6.58)
0.416
0.387
23.51
60°C

3rd grade
150°C

0.411
0.386
27.33
50°C
Table 1. Average chromaticity coordinates x, y, Y of IR/hot-air combination dried white ginseng and commercial white ginseng.

0.408
0.386
27.29
40°C

0.405
0.385
32.32
23°C

Fig. 2. Chromaticity coordinates x, y of commercial

white ginseng and IR/hot-air combination
0.395 (0.005)
0.383 (0.003)
37.81 (3.89)
Average

dried ginseng.

was used with acetonitrile/water (84:16, v/v) mixture as a

mobile phase.
0.395
0.383
37.81
60°C

0.395 (0.012)
0.385 (0.006)
38.10 (6.49)

RESULTS and DISCUSSION

2nd grade
100°C

External color
0.394
0.382
39.10
50°C

Table 1 shows the average chromaticity values x, y, and Y

of both the IR/hot-air combination dried ginseng and
commercial white ginseng. As the temperature of the IR
0.401
0.384
33.03
40°C

radiating plate increased, the Y value decreased while the

x and y values increased. Values of x and y also increased
slightly as the drying air temperature increased but the
** Purchased after commercially hot-air dried by a white ginseng producer.

effect of drying air temperature on the Y value seemed to

0.390
0.379
39.77
23°C

be inconclusive. This indicates that the color characteristics

became lower in lightness and higher in saturation,
resulting in white ginseng of lemon yellow color with the
0.378 (0.006)*

high temperature IR/hot-air combination drying.

0.379 (0.004)
52.26 (4.61)
Average

Due to their slightly lower x, y values and much higher

Y value compared with other samples, the white ginseng
dried at 80oC IR radiating plate temperature seemed to
have a light, pale egg-white color which was more similar
* Values in parentheses are standard deviations.
0.389 (0.010)
0.383 (0.006)

to raw ginseng. However, drying at 80oC IR plate

43.88 (4.56)
1st grade
0.383
0.383
50.58
IR/hot-air combination dried white ginseng

temperature for 12 hours yielded incompletely dried white

50°C
80°C

ginseng with the moisture content of 45-50% and for this

reason they might not be suitable to be compared directly
with the ginseng samples obtained from other drying
0.377
0.377
55.02
40°C

treatments.
Commercial white ginseng**

The x, y measurement data of the IR/hot-air

combination dried ginseng samples are plotted in Fig. 2
0.374
0.376
51.19
23°C

along with the average and standard deviations of the

chromaticity coordinates x, y of the commercial white
ginseng. White ginseng dried at IR plate temperature of
100oC was considered to have virtually no color difference
temperature

temperature
Drying air

from the commercial white ginseng whose color was light

IR plate

milk-white. With the IR plate temperature of 80o and

150oC, however, white ginseng with a light, pale egg-white
Y

Y
x
y

x
y

and a dark, vivid lemon yellow color were obtained,

3.50 LE GÉNIE DES BIOSYSTÈMES AU CANADA KIM et al.

 residuals of the data points in Fig. 5 but the test
result was inconclusive.
Saponin and free sugar components
Table 2 shows the saponin contents of the 13
white ginseng sample groups along with their
identification codes, drying methods, and
conditions. Sample codes Gn-1 and Ch-1
represent the 1st grade white ginseng
commercially produced by hot-air drying and
the white ginseng mildly dried in a laboratory
environmental chamber at 50oC and 50%
relative humidity for 100 hours, respectively.
The crude saponin contents were found to
be 3.22-3.92 % of dry weight and comparable
with the reported values by others (Cho 1977;
Lee et al. 1996). Total saponin contents
comparison among the sample groups did not
reveal any significant difference suggesting the
drying methods and conditions used in the
Fig. 3. Diametral shrinkage ratio, final moisture ratio, and center study had little effect on the amount of crude
temperature of ginseng roots for various drying treatments. saponin in white ginseng.

respectively. There were also no discernible differences in both

the average and standard deviation of measured x, y values
among the commercial white ginseng despite their grade
differences. Wilhelm (1990) also reported that there was
virtually no relationship between surface color and overall
quality ratings of dried American ginseng determined by
ginseng buyers nor buyer evaluation of color was related to the
results of instrumental color measurement.
Diametral shrinkage
Diametral shrinkage ratios, final moisture ratios, and average
temperatures of the ginseng root center for various drying runs
are shown in Fig. 3. Diametral shrinkage ratios of 24-36% and
Fig. 4. Relationship among diametral shrinkage ratio,
20-21% were obtained from the IR/hot-air combination drying
and the conventional hot-air drying tests, respectively. Chun et final moisture ratio, and center temperature of
al. (1985) mentioned a similar shrinkage ratio of 24% after the ginseng roots obtained from the combined results
drying of steam-cooked Korean ginseng with 80oC air for 12 of IR/hot-air combination drying and conventional
hours. For American ginseng, Sokhansanj et al. (1999a, 1999b) hot-air drying experiments.
also reported comparable values for the changes in root
diameter during drying.
Figure 3 also shows a general trend that the diametral
shrinkage ratio was proportional and the final moisture ratio was
inversely proportional to the average temperature of ginseng
root center during drying. These relationships among the
average temperature of ginseng root center, Tc (oC), diametral
shrinkage ratio, ,d (%), and final moisture ratio, MRf are plotted
in Fig. 4 and regression analysis yielded Eqs. 2 and 3.

ε d = 0.3854Tc + 7.4583 ( R 2 = 0.749) (2)

MR f = −0.0072Tc + 0.6054 (R 2
)
= 0.921 (3)

An interrelation between the diametral shrinkage and the

final moisture ratio was deducted from the above relationships Fig. 5. Relationship between diametral shrinkage and final
and is shown in Fig. 5. The effect of different drying methods moisture ratio of ginseng roots obtained from the
(IR/hot-air combination drying vs conventional hot-air drying) combined results of IR/hot-air combination drying
on the diametral shrinkage ratio was evaluated by examining the and conventional hot-air drying experiments.

Volume 44 2002 CANADIAN BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING 3.51

Table 2. Saponin contents of white ginseng obtained by various drying treatments.

Drying condition Ginsenosides (% db)

Crude
Sample PD/PT
IR plate Drying air saponin
code ratio*
temperature temperature (% db) Rb1 Rb2 Rc Rd Re Rf Rg1 Total
(°C) (°C)

R-1 80 23 3.59 0.25 0.10 0.12 0.02 0.12 0.07 0.25 0.93 1.11
R-2 80 40 3.92 0.28 0.12 0.12 0.03 0.15 0.09 0.29 1.08 1.04
R-3 80 50 3.68 0.17 0.07 0.07 0.02 0.10 0.07 0.18 0.68 0.94
R-4 100 23 3.34 0.17 0.07 0.08 0.02 0.09 0.04 0.14 0.61 1.26
R-5 100 40 3.73 0.22 0.09 0.09 0.02 0.07 0.07 0.23 0.79 1.14
R-6 100 50 3.83 0.22 0.10 0.11 0.02 0.10 0.06 0.20 0.81 1.25
R-7 120 23 3.84 0.23 0.10 0.12 0.02 0.14 0.08 0.21 0.90 1.09
R-8 120 40 3.39 0.19 0.08 0.10 0.02 0.10 0.07 0.16 0.72 1.18
R-9 120 50 3.88 0.27 0.12 0.14 0.02 0.12 0.08 0.24 0.99 1.25
R-10# IR off 50 3.22 0.18 0.06 0.07 0.02 0.10 0.05 0.14 0.62 1.14
R-11# IR off 60 3.71 0.28 0.14 0.15 0.02 0.14 0.08 0.31 1.12 1.11
Gn-1¶ - 50 3.76 0.27 0.08 0.09 0.04 0.13 0.06 0.24 0.91 1.12
Ch-1§ - 50 3.67 0.22 0.10 0.12 0.03 0.13 0.07 0.22 0.89 1.12

* Ratio between the total contents of panaxadiol ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd) and panaxatriol ginsenosides (Re, Rf, Rg1)
#
Hot-air dried by the prototype IR/hot-air combination dryer
¶
Purchased after commercially hot-air dried by a white ginseng producer
§
Dried mildly in a laboratory environmental chamber at 50°C and 50% relative humidity for 100 h

groups. It is interesting that the protopanaxatriol saponins

Fig. 6. Major ginsenosides contents and panaxadiol/
panaxatriol ginsenosides ratio of white ginseng
obtained by various drying treatments.
The individual saponin components of ginseng are called
ginsenosides and are generally believed to be the major
components responsible for the many medical effects of
ginseng. Chemically, ginsenosides are glycosides of the
dammarane group and 29 different ginsenosides have been
identified presently (Anonymous 1994). Ginsenosides are
further classified into the protopanaxadiol, protopanaxatriol, and
oleanolic acid series saponins according to their chemical
structures where most ginsenosides belong to the first two
have been known to excite the central nerve system of the
human body while the protopanaxadiol series saponins
decrease the excitement (Anonymous 1978). The effect of
protopanaxadiol group saponins on red blood cells is also
anti-hemolytic action, while that of protopanaxatriol group
saponins is to promote hemolysis. Some scholars, therefore,
suggest it would be more reasonable to estimate the medical
effects of ginseng by the panaxadiol (PD)/panaxatriol (PT)
ratio as well as the absolute saponin content. For Korean
ginseng, it has been reported that ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc,
and Rd are the four major components of the panaxadiol
group saponins and the panaxatriol group mainly consists of
the ginsenosides Re, Rf, and Rg1 (Anonymous 1994).
Existing data on the ginsenosides contents of ginseng are
often contradicting to each other due to the inherent
variations in the growing environment, cultivating practice,
and postharvest treatment as well as the technique used for
the chemical analysis. Ko (1994) found 11 ginsenosides in
Korean white ginseng and reported that the amounts of
major ginsenosides were in the order of Rb1 > Rg1 > Re > Rc
> Rb2 > Rd. Lee et al. (1996) also analyzed the saponin
composition of commercial Korean white ginseng and the
amounts of individual ginsenoside content were reported in
the order of Rg1 > Rb1 > Re > Rc > Rd.
Figure 6 shows the contents of three panaxadiol
ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc) and two panaxatriol ginsenosides
(Rg1, Re) as well as the PD/PT ratios of white ginseng obtained
from different drying runs. Although any statistical analysis for
their validity was not attempted, experimental data obtained
from this study provided some compatible results with the
existing findings. Despite the differences in the absolute
amounts of individual ginsenoside content among the drying
treatments, the magnitudes of the five representative

3.52 LE GÉNIE DES BIOSYSTÈMES AU CANADA KIM et al.

Table 3. Free sugar contents of white ginseng obtained by various drying treatments.

Drying condition Free sugar (% db)

Sample code IR plate Drying air

temperature temperature Sucrose Maltose Glucose Fructose Total
(°C) (°C)

R-1 80 23 24.06 1.02 0.66 0.53 26.27

R-2 80 40 22.66 0.98 1.35 2.19 27.18
R-3 80 50 21.72 1.49 1.29 1.08 25.58
R-4 100 23 20.98 0.85 0.42 0.39 22.64
R-5 100 40 16.44 3.33 1.78 1.12 22.67
R-6 100 50 23.47 3.63 1.47 1.27 29.84
R-7 120 23 26.83 2.60 2.12 2.44 33.99
R-8 120 40 21.60 6.68 1.51 1.11 30.90
R-9 120 50 24.43 4.73 3.15 2.59 34.90
R-10# IR off 50 23.21 2.30 0.84 0.36 26.71
R-11# IR off 60 27.15 0.77 0.45 0.27 28.64
Gn-1¶ - 50 36.27 - 0.80 0.56 37.63
Ch-1§ - 50 28.25 0.50 0.51 0.59 29.85
#
Hot-air dried by the prototype IR/hot-air combination dryer
¶
Purchased after commercially hot-air dried by a white ginseng producer
§
Dried mildly in a laboratory environmental chamber at 50°C and 50% relative humidity for 100 h

ranged from 0.94 to 1.25 and it was not

Fig. 7. Free sugar composition of white ginseng obtained by various
drying treatments.
ginsenosides seemed to follow the order of Rb1 > Rg1 > Re > Rc
> Rb2, indicating the drying methods and conditions used in this ginseng in both the free sugar content and composition.
study had little influence on the ginsenoside composition of
white ginseng. When the absolute amounts of each ginsenoside
Rb1, Rg1, Re, Rc, and Rb2 were compared among the sample
groups, no noticeable trend according to the different drying
treatments could be found. Therefore, use of IR/hot-air
combination drying seemed to neither improve nor deteriorate
the quality of white ginseng as far as these five ginsenosides
were concerned. The PD/PT ratios of the 13 sample groups
possible to draw any conclusion regarding their
dependence on the drying treatments used in
the study.
Table 3 and Fig. 7 show the free sugar
contents and compositions of white ginseng
obtained by various drying treatments. The total
sugar contents were found to be 22.6-37.6 % of
dry weight. Free sugars in the white ginseng
were composed of fructose, glucose, sucrose,
and maltose and the content of sucrose was 70-
96% of the total free sugars. Others reported
similar results for the composition of free
sugars as well as for the relative content of
sucrose (86-93%) in total free sugars (Choi et
al. 1981; Sohn et al. 1988; Ko et al. 1996). For
IR/hot-air combination dried white ginseng, it
appeared that they experienced a decrease in
sucrose content and an increase in fructose,
glucose, and especially maltose content as the
IR plate temperature increased. Based on the
results in Table 3 and Fig. 7, however, no
conclusion could be made on whether the
various drying treatments used in the study
affected the free sugar contents and
compositions nor the IR/hot-air combination dried white
ginseng was not significantly different to the commercial white
CONCLUSIONS
As a result of the study, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
1. As the IR radiating plate temperature increased, the color
characteristics of white ginseng became lower in lightness
and higher in saturation. IR/hot-air combination dried white

Volume 44 2002 CANADIAN BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING 3.53

 ginseng at the IR plate temperature of 100oC was not
different in color characteristics from 1st and 2nd grade
commercial white ginseng products. With the IR plate
temperature of 80 and 150oC, white ginseng with a light,
pale egg-white and a dark, vivid lemon yellow color were
obtained, respectively.
2. Diametral shrinkage ratio of ginseng during drying was in
the range of 20-36%. Shrinkage ratio was inversely
proportional to the final moisture ratio. Diametral shrinkage
ratio appeared independent of the difference in drying
methods used in the study (IR/hot-air combination drying vs
conventional hot-air drying).
3. Comparison of total saponin content and individual
ginsenosides composition among the samples did not reveal
any noticeable trend due to the various drying treatments
used in the study. The PD/PT ratios also did not show any
definite evidence for their dependence on the drying
methods and drying conditions.
4. IR/hot-air combination dried white ginseng showed a
decrease in sucrose content and an increase in fructose,
glucose, and especially maltose content as the IR plate
temperature increased. It was not possible to verify whether
the various drying treatments used in the study had any
effects on the free sugar contents and compositions of white
ginseng.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry, Republic of Korea and the authors express sincere
thanks for the financial support provided.
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