Ginsenoside content of berries and roots of three typical Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) cultivars

The ginsenoside content of berries and roots of three cultivars of Korean ginseng have been investigated. For all cultivars, ginsenoside Re was the most abundant ginsenoside in roots and berries. However, berries produced more total ginsenosides, and berry the ginsenoside profile differed from that of roots. The ginsenoside Re content of berries was 4-6 times more than that of roots. Averaged across all cultivars, the amounts of the five ginsenosides in berries was Re > Rc approximately = Rg1 approximately = Rb1 approximately = Rd. For roots, the amounts were Re > Rg1 > Rb1 > Rc > Rd. Roots of the Yunpoong cultivar had the greatest ginsenoside content, followed by roots of the Chunpoong cultivar and the Gumpoong cultivar. The total amount of ginsenosides (especially Rb1, Re, and Rg1) was greatest in the Yunpoong cultivar.