Phytochemical properties and antioxidative activities of ginseng superfine powders prepared by wet grinding method with high-pressure homogenization

Abstract

Ginseng is widely used in agricultural products, dietary health supplements, and pharmaceutical preparations, which has significant market potential. It is of great significance to develop a more efficient and environmentally friendly production process of ginseng powder. However, ginseng is difficult to be milled to an ideal state by dry grinding method because of its higher fiber content. In the meantime, ginseng has high viscosity when suspended in a liquid, which can pose challenges during wet grinding processes. In order to develop a production process for ginseng powder with excellent physicochemical properties, three kinds of powders were obtained by both dry grinding method (ball mill) and wet grinding method (colloid mill&high-pressure homogenizer) in this study. The powder properties, structural properties, saponin contents,and antioxidant activity of different ginseng powders were also investigated. The results showed that wet grinding technology using a high-pressure homogenization process could significantly improve the powder properties，including the particle size, specific surface area, span value, water holding capacity, and appearance. Moreover, both the saponin contents and the antioxidant activity of the powder had been significantly enhanced. The findings indicated that high-pressure homogenization process was a promising technique for producing plant powders rich in bioactive compounds, which could enhance their bioactivity. The method was argued to be a significant alternative technology for production of ginseng ultrafine powders. Furthermore, it offered theoretical and technical support for the application of the high-pressure homogenization process in the preparation of ultrafine powders with reduced particle sizes from high-fiber plants.