Effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) technology on physicochemical properties of raw Panax ginseng roots were investigated in this study. PEF treatment was conducted with different electric field strength (0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 kV/cm) and pulse width of 25 μs. Ginseng cell and vacuole membranes were significantly affected by PEF treatment at field strengths >1.5 kV/cm. Changes in membrane systems due to PEF treatment were verified by increased ion leaching and increased cell membrane disintegration (conductivity disintegration index Z value). Observation by electron microscopy revealed vacuole destruction and plasma membrane separation following PEF treatment. Texture profile analysis showed a significant decrease in hardness (by 44%) and chewiness (by 45%) at 2.5 kV/cm. PEF treatment had little effect on proximate composition and crude saponin content of ginseng roots. However, total phenolic content (by 11%) and antioxidant activity (by 21.4% for DPPH and 3.64% for ABTS) were significantly increased.

Industrial relevance

Raw ginseng is normally steamed and dried to make white ginseng and red ginseng. However, using these methods is time consuming and requires much energy. Pulsed electric field (PEF) can induce the changes in physicochemical properties of ginseng with less energy for a short period of time. By using this technology, we can obtain ginseng products with high cell permeability and high antioxidant ability by tailoring the microstructure. This potentially increases the extraction of bioactive compounds in ginseng and significantly enhances the mass transfer during subsequent processing, thereby improving the efficiency of the whole process. These results could be used as basic study for the production of high-quality ginseng products using non-thermal technologies.

中文翻译：

---

脉冲电场处理对人参理化特性的影响

脉冲电场技术对人参原料理化特性的影响在这项研究中对根进行了研究。用不同的电场强度（0.5、1.5和2.5 kV / cm）和25μs的脉冲宽度进行PEF处理。人参细胞膜和液泡膜在> 1.5 kV / cm的场强下受到PEF处理的显着影响。通过增加的离子浸出和增加的细胞膜崩解（电导率崩解指数Z值）验证了由于PEF处理而引起的膜系统变化。电镜观察发现PEF处理后液泡破坏和质膜分离。纹理轮廓分析显示，在2.5 kV / cm时，硬度（降低44％）和耐嚼性（降低45％）显着降低。PEF处理对人参根部的成分和粗皂苷含量影响不大。但是，总酚含量（降低了11％）和抗氧化活性（降低了21）。

行业相关性

通常将生人参蒸干，制成白参和红参。但是，使用这些方法很耗时并且需要大量能量。脉冲电场（PEF）可以在短时间内以较少的能量诱导人参的理化性质发生变化。通过使用这种技术，我们可以通过调整微观结构来获得具有高细胞渗透性和高抗氧化能力的人参产品。这潜在地增加了人参中生物活性化合物的提取，并显着增强了后续加工过程中的传质，从而提高了整个过程的效率。这些结果可作为使用非热技​​术生产高品质人参产品的基础研究。