Patent Description:
Panax as a common name of Korean ginseng is a compound word of two Greek words, Pan (all) and Axos (cure), meaning "cure for all disorders", and it is a medicinal plant which has been most widely consumed as general food and medicine. Ginseng is composed of carbohydrates (about <NUM>%), crude proteins (<NUM> to <NUM>%), crude lipids (<NUM> to <NUM>%), ash (<NUM> to <NUM>%), crude saponin (<NUM> to <NUM>%), and other minor components. Ginseng is known to have functional benefits like immunity enhancement, fatigue recovery, memory improvement, blood circulation improvement, anti-oxidation, and health maintenance in menopausal women. It is also reported that ginseng has various pharmacological activities like suppressing or stimulating central nervous system, promoting biosynthesis of proteins and nucleic acids, promoting hematopoiesis, preventing arteriosclerosis, lowering blood glucose level, and anti-stress activity. It is known that those activities are mainly based on the effect of ginsenosides, which are generated from saponin upon release of sugars.

More than <NUM> kinds of ginsenosides have been separated and identified from ginseng saponin, and ginsenosides Rb <NUM>, Rb2, Rc, and Rd, which belong to protopanaxadiol-based saponin, and ginsenosides Re and Rg1, which belong to protopanaxatriol-based saponin, are the major components.

It is known that ginsenoside compound K (<NUM>-<NUM>-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-<NUM>(S)-protopanaxadiol) as a metabolite of ginsenoside has a high pharmacological activity as well as excellent absorption property in human body. In recent years, it is also reported to exhibit a therapeutic effect for macular degeneration and neuropathic pain. In addition, it is currently known to exhibit various favorable effects like inhibition of tumor angiogenesis, inhibition of cancer cell infiltration, inhibition of cancer cell proliferation, and immunity enhancement.

However, since ginsenoside compound K is hardly contained in ginseng itself, a technique for converting ginsenosides contained in ginseng to compound K by using enzyme or radiation has been developed to solve the problem. Still, development of a new method for producing enriched ginsenoside compound K is in need.

In <CIT>, a method of producing ginsenoside compound K based on enzymatic process is disclosed, and in <CIT>, a method for production of a composition for preparing ginsenoside compound K using Aspergillus oryzae enzyme solution is disclosed. However, those methods are different from the process of the present invention which is aimed to produce red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate having enriched specific component. Further methods of the prior art for producing red ginseng extracts are disclosed in <CIT> and <CIT>.

The present invention is devised under the circumstances that are described in the above. To enhance the content of compound K in red ginseng concentrate, production conditions such as selection of submaterials, pretreatment process of red ginseng, production of concentrate, and the like are optimized so that a process for producing red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate with high quality and containing a large amount of compound K is provided.

To achieve the object described in the above, the present invention provides a process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate in accordance with claim <NUM> comprising: (<NUM>) adding water or alcohol to a mixture containing bamboo shoot, Japanese gerbera (Leibnitzia anandria) leaf, oriental arbor vitae (Platycladus orientalis) fruit, and false daisy (Eclipta prostrata) followed by extraction and filtration to prepare an extract; (<NUM>) adding water or alcohol to Ecklonia cava followed by extraction to prepare an Ecklonia cava extract; (<NUM>) adding the extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) to red ginseng followed by extraction and filtration to prepare a red ginseng extract; (<NUM>) adding the Ecklonia cava extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) to red ginseng separated from the red ginseng extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) followed by extraction and filtration to prepare a red ginseng extract; (<NUM>) mixing the red ginseng extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) with the red ginseng extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) followed by concentration to prepare red ginseng concentrate; (<NUM>) adding an enzyme solution comprising beta-glucosidase and pectinase to the red ginseng concentrate prepared in the above step (<NUM>) to have an enzyme reaction followed by addition of alcohol to prepare a mixture solution of red ginseng and alcohol; and (<NUM>) centrifuging the mixture solution of red ginseng and alcohol prepared in the above step (<NUM>) followed by concentration under reduced pressure of a supernatant separated by the centrifuge.

The present invention also provides a red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate produced by the aforementioned process.

According to the present invention, ginsenoside loss is minimized during the concentrate separation after the enzyme reaction and efficient conversion to compound K having excellent pharmacological effect is achieved so that red ginseng concentrate containing compound K at high concentration can be provided. In addition, due to the smooth taste obtained after the removal of bitterness, which is specific to red ginseng, easily swallowable red ginseng concentrate can be provided.

To achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention provides a process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate comprising:.

According to the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention, the extract of the above step (<NUM>) may be preferably prepared by adding water or alcohol to a mixture containing, based on the total weight of the mixture, bamboo shoot at <NUM> to <NUM>% by weight, Japanese gerbera (Leibnitzia anandria) leaf at <NUM> to <NUM>% by weight, oriental arbor vitae (Platycladus orientalis) fruit at <NUM> to <NUM>% by weight, and false daisy (Eclipta prostrata) at <NUM> to <NUM>% by weight in a ratio of <NUM> to <NUM> (v/w) with respect to the mixture, extracting the resulting mixture for <NUM> to <NUM> hours at <NUM> to <NUM>, and filtering the resulting mixture. More preferably, the extract may be prepared by adding water or alcohol to a mixture containing, based on the total weight of the mixture, bamboo shoot at <NUM>% by weight, Japanese gerbera (Leibnitzia anandria) leaf at <NUM>% by weight, oriental arbor vitae (Platycladus orientalis) fruit at <NUM>% by weight, and false daisy (Eclipta prostrata) at <NUM>% by weight in a ratio of <NUM> (v/w) with respect to the mixture, extracting the resulting mixture for <NUM> hours at <NUM>, and filtering the resulting mixture.

Moreover, according to the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention, the Ecklonia cava extract of the above step (<NUM>) may be preferably prepared by adding water or alcohol to Ecklonia cava in a ratio of <NUM> to <NUM> (v/w) with respect to Ecklonia cava, and extracting the mixture for <NUM> to <NUM> hours at <NUM> to <NUM>. More preferably, it may be prepared by adding water or alcohol to Ecklonia cava in a ratio of <NUM> (v/w) with respect to Ecklonia cava, and extracting the mixture for <NUM> hours at <NUM>.

Moreover, according to the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention, the red ginseng extract of the above step (<NUM>) may be prepared by adding the extract to red ginseng, extracting the mixture at <NUM> to <NUM>, and filtering the resulting mixture. More preferably, it may be prepared by adding the extract to red ginseng, extracting the mixture at <NUM>, and filtering the resulting mixture.

Moreover, according to the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention, the red ginseng extract of the above step (<NUM>) may be preferably prepared by adding Ecklonia cava extract to red ginseng separated from the red ginseng extract, extracting the mixture at <NUM> to <NUM>, and filtering the resulting mixture. More preferably, it may be prepared by adding Ecklonia cava extract to red ginseng separated from the red ginseng extract, extracting the mixture at <NUM>, and filtering the resulting mixture.

By producing red ginseng concentrate at the conditions of above step (<NUM>) to step (<NUM>), smooth and rich taste can be enhanced while the bitterness specific to red ginseng is reduced so that red ginseng concentrate in which compound K is efficiently converted by the enzyme reaction can be provided.

Moreover, according to the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention, the mixture solution of red ginseng and alcohol of the above step (<NUM>) may be preferably prepared by adding an enzyme solution to the red ginseng concentrate, carrying out an enzyme reaction for <NUM> to <NUM> days at <NUM> to <NUM>, and adding <NUM> to <NUM>% (v/v) alcohol. More preferably, it may be prepared by adding an enzyme solution to the red ginseng concentrate, carrying out an enzyme reaction for <NUM> days at <NUM>, and adding <NUM> to <NUM>% (v/v) alcohol.

When the red ginseng concentrate is subjected to an enzyme reaction at the aforementioned conditions, ginsenosides contained in the red ginseng concentrate can be converted to compound K at high concentration. Meanwhile, as the enzyme may remain in the red ginseng concentrate after the completion of the enzyme reaction, lower quality of the enzyme concentration may be caused. Thus, it is preferable to remove the enzyme. Accordingly, by effectively removing the enzyme from the concentrate by centrifuge after adding alcohol, loss of the ginsenosides can be minimized.

More specifically, the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention may comprise:.

Even more specifically, the process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of the present invention may comprise:.

The present invention also provides red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate produced by the aforementioned process.

Hereinbelow, the present invention is explained in greater detail in view of the Examples. However, the following Examples are given only for exemplification of the present invention.

Analysis of ginsenoside content was made by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) equipped with UVD (Ultra Visible Detector), and the conditions for analysis are as described in the following Table <NUM>. Formula for calculating the content is the same as the following formula.

The results of analyzing the content of compound K (C-K) in red ginseng concentrate and red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate are the same as those described in the following Tables <NUM> and <NUM>.

As a result, it was found that compound K is contained in the red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate but not in the red ginseng concentrate. In particular, compound K was contained at <NUM>/g in the red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate when the enzyme separation has been made with <NUM>% alcohol, and the highest content, i.e., <NUM>/g, was obtained when the enzyme separation has been made with <NUM>% alcohol. Thus, there was no significant difference in the compound K content depending on alcohol concentration.

Furthermore, in the precipitate obtained by removing the supernatant that has been separated by centrifuge, compound K was contained in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM>/g, showing the loss rate of about <NUM>%.

Variation of the <NUM> types of ginsenosides (mg/g) between the red ginseng concentrate and red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of Preparation example <NUM> is described in the following Tables <NUM> and <NUM>.

As a result, it was found that most of the ginsenosides are reduced according to enzyme treatment of the red ginseng concentrate. Meanwhile, among the ginsenosides, Rg2 has slightly increased as a result of the enzyme treatment. In addition, with regard to F2, C-K, and Rh2 which have not been detected from the red ginseng concentrate, they were found to be newly generated as a result of the enzyme treatment of the red ginseng concentrate.

Preference evaluation of the red ginseng concentrate and red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate of Preparation example <NUM> was performed by evaluating, based on <NUM>-point scale method, the taste, bitterness, appearance, and overall preference, and obtaining their mean value. For the preference for bitterness, higher score is given to less bitterness.

Claim 1:
A process for production of red ginseng hydrolysis concentrate comprising:
(<NUM>) adding water or alcohol to a mixture containing bamboo shoot, Japanese gerbera (Leibnitzia anandria) leaf, oriental arbor vitae (Platycladus orientalis) fruit, and false daisy (Eclipta prostrata) followed by extraction and filtration to prepare an extract;
(<NUM>) adding water or alcohol to Ecklonia cava followed by extraction to prepare an Ecklonia cava extract;
(<NUM>) adding the extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) to red ginseng followed by extraction and filtration to prepare a red ginseng extract;
(<NUM>) adding the Ecklonia cava extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) to red ginseng separated from the red ginseng extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) followed by extraction and filtration to prepare a red ginseng extract;
(<NUM>) mixing the red ginseng extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) with the red ginseng extract prepared in the above step (<NUM>) followed by concentration to prepare red ginseng concentrate;
(<NUM>) adding an enzyme solution comprising beta-glucosidase and pectinase to the red ginseng concentrate prepared in the above step (<NUM>) to have an enzyme reaction followed by addition of alcohol to prepare a mixture solution of red ginseng and alcohol; and
(<NUM>) centrifuging the mixture solution of red ginseng and alcohol prepared in the above step (<NUM>) followed by concentration under reduced pressure of a supernatant separated by the centrifuge.