Background : Despite the presence of various bioactive compounds in ginseng, there is lack of study on the variations of bioactive compounds in ginseng according to the cultivation of soil and the applied fertilizer types (or amount). Therefore, this study aims to examine the variations of 37 fatty acids (FA) and 8 vitamin E (Vit-E) vitamers in 6-year-old ginseng root cultivated in different soil types with different fertilizers regimes. Methods and Results : The profiling of 37 FAs and 8 Vit-E vitamers in 6-year-old ginseng roots was measured by gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector, and then these results were statistically analyzed with chemometrics. The FA and Vit-E content in ginseng roots varied significantly with respect to soil cultivation conditions due to organic fertilizer types and amounts used. Unsaturated FA in ginseng is approximately 2.7 fold higher than the saturated FA. Linoleic, palmitic, and oleic acids were the most abundant FAs found in the ginseng roots. Also, the major Vit-E vitamer found in ginseng root is α -tocopherol. In particular, the application of rice straw compost or food waste fertilizer was increased to create nutritionally-desirable FAs and bioactive Vit-E in ginseng root. In addition, phytonutrient profiling coupled with chemometrics can be used to discriminate the cultivation conditions of ginseng. Conclusion : This preliminary study extends our understanding about the variations of FA and Vit-E in ginseng root depending on cultivation conditions. Hence, these results can be useful as basic information for reliable ginseng production containing high amounts of phytonutrients in a paddy-converted field.

Background : The natural stable isotope ratio of common bio-elements like carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), or sulfur (S) varies with diverse isotope fractionation processes in nature. Therefore, measuring the variation of these stable isotope ratios in ginseng roots can be a feasible tool to discriminate the geographical origins of ginseng in Korea. Methods and Results : The 3-year-old six Korean ginseng cultivars were cultivated at the five regions in Korea, and then used for measuring the stable isotope ratios of C, N, O, and S by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). The mean C, N, O, and S stable isotope ratio values in the ginseng roots significantly differed according to the cultivation regions (p < 0.05). However, these isotope ratios in ginseng roots had relatively weak discriminative power against to the ginseng cultivars at each cultivation region. The interaction of the cultivation region and ginseng cultivar type also significantly affected to the C, N, O, and S stable isotope ratio in ginseng roots (p < 0.0001). The two-dimensional plots associated with the N stable isotope ratio can effectively separate the ginseng roots in Jinan compared to those in the other regions. The partial least squares-discriminant analysis showed more significant separation between ginseng geographical origins compared to the principal component analysis. Conclusion : Our findings improve our understanding of how the isotope composition of ginseng roots varies with respect to cultivation regions and cultivars, and suggest that the analysis of the stable isotope ratios combined with chemometrics can be used as a feasible tool to discriminate geographical origin of ginseng in Korea.

To produce high quality watermelon, three tetraploid watermelon breeding lines (‘SA03-1’, ‘SA06-1’ and ‘SB01-1’) were developed by treatment with different chromosome doubling reagents. To identify the optimal tetraploid inductive conditions, the three watermelon breeding lines were selected by counting the number of doubled chloroplasts in guard cells. Tetraploid induction rates differed depending on the genotypes and treatment with doubling reagents. However, the highest induction rate occurred with 1.0% colchicine (82.2%). These putative tetraploid lines were re-confirmed for ploidy using flow cytometric analysis and chromosome counting. The internode length of the tetraploid breeding lines was different when the leaf size was larger in all three tetraploid lines compared to their diploids. The fruit weight of the tetraploid fruits for ‘SA03-1’ and ‘SB01-1’ was lower than for their diploid, and the rind thickness and total sugar content (°Brix) of tetraploid SB01-1 were significantly different from those of its diploid. Tetraploid lines were sterile, yielded a lower number of seeds per fruit for ‘SA03-1’ (21), ‘SA06-1’ (62), and ‘SB01-1’ (34.7), and the seeds were larger and thicker than those of their diploids. These tetraploid breeding results will be useful for breeding new seedless watermelon cultivars.