The purpose of this study was to prepare Korean traditional vinegar using ginseng radices (wild simulated ginseng, red ginseng), and to investigate its functional ingredients and functionality. The total amino acid content of red ginseng vinegar and wild simulated ginseng vinegar was 124.36 mg% and 168.37 mg%, respectively, which was confirmed to be higher than the total amino acid content of red ginseng and wild simulated ginseng (70.71 mg%, 76.29 mg%). In addition, the polyphenol contents of red ginseng vinegar and wild simulated ginseng vinegar were 73.26 mg/g and 82.43 mg/g, respectively, which was confirmed to be higher than that of red ginseng and wild simulated ginseng (43.42 mg/g, 51.32 mg/g). And also, the DPPH electron donating ability of red ginseng vinegar and wild simulated ginseng vinegar was 893.26 μg/mL, 803.92 μg/mL, which showed that the scavenging ability was better than that of red ginseng and wild simulated ginseng (1253.21 μg/mL, 1021.01 μg/mL). On the other hand, it was confirmed that red ginseng vinegar and wild simulated ginseng vinegar contain 0.024% and 0.028% of compound K, a unique component of fermented ginseng, which is not contained in red ginseng and wild simulated ginseng. From these results, it was confirmed that Korean traditional vinegar using ginseng radices is a traditional functional food with functional ingredients and antioxidant activity.

식초 제조용 종초 선발을 위해 다양한 초산균을 분리한 후, 그들의 발효특성 분석하여 종초 가능성을 검토하였다. 수집된 식초 시료에서 분리된 균주의 16S rRNA 염기서열을 분석한 결과, A. pasteurianus, A. malorum, Ga. entanii, Ga. intermedius, Ga. xylinus로 동정되었다. 식초 제조용 초산균의 발효특성을 분석한 결과, 초산의 과산화능은 모든 시험 균주에서 음성으로 나타나 과산화를 보이지 않았으며, 초산 내성은 Gluconacetobacter 속 균주만 관찰되었다. pH 내성은A. malorum V5-7 균주가 가장 높았다. 식초 품질에 해로운 영향을 주는 섬유질상의 세포외 다당체인 콜로이드 생성 균주는 Ga. intermedius V11-5, Ga. xylinus V8-1 균주로 나타났다. 초산 생성능은 A. malorum V5-7, A. pasteurianus Gam2, Ga. intermedius V11-5에서 가장 높은 산 생성능을 나타내었다. 본 연구에서는 종초용 초산균의 발효 특성 연구를 통해 국내 발효 식초의 품질 향상을 기대한다.