Comparative Analysis on Concentration and Synthetic Amount of Water Soluble and Water Insoluble Carbohydrates with Different Plant Tissues, Growth Stages and Years Old of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer

*Department of Plant Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea.**Gangwondo Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Chuncheon 200-150, Korea.ABSTRACT : This study was carried out to have the basic and applied informations relating to develop the cultivationmethods and to increase the productivity and quality of ginseng. 1 to 6 year old ginsengs of Jakyung cultivar were cultivatedand the content and synthetic amount of carbohydrates were investigated with different plant tissues, growth stages, andyears old. The concentration of total carbohydrates at six year old ginseng including water soluble and water insoluble car-bohydrates was about 18.9%, 42.9%, and 43,6% in leaves, tap roots, and lateral roots, respectively. Water soluble carbohy-drate of tap and lateral roots was slightly decreased from August until September, and then increased on November,whereas its water insoluble carbohydrate was increased from August to September and then decreased on November. Com-paring with the content of carbohydrates of 1 to 6 year old ginsengs, it was continuously increased from one year old ginsenguntil five year old ginseng, however it was not increased much in six year old ginseng. The highest content of carbohydrateswas at five year-old in all tissues of ginseng. Water soluble and water insoluble carbohydrates were significantly shown dif-ferent in leaves, stems, tap roots, and lateral root at different growth stages and with different years old. The content ofwater soluble carbohydrate in the leaves was remarkedly higher compared to that of water insoluble carbohydrate, while inthe root the content of water insoluble carbohydrate was clearly higher compared to the water soluble carbohydrate. Com-paring with the synthetic amount of carbohydrates, water soluble carbohydrates was higher in the shoot than that in theroot, whereas water-insoluble carbohydrates higher in the root than that in the shoot. Carbohydrates which would be uti-lized in ginseng tissues for short and long-term periods as major energy were appeared differently in between shoot androot, with different growth stages, and years old.Key Words : Ginseng, Water Soluble Carbohydrates, Water Insoluble Carbohydrates, Shoot and Root