Vietnamese doctor processes Lai Chau red ginseng

According to Dr. Pham Ha Thanh Tung – Vietnam Ginseng and Medicinal Materials Research Institute, Lai Chau ginseng (Panax vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus) was discovered in 2013 and is being confirmed by WFO (The world flora online) as an official plant of Vietnamese ginseng (Panax vietnamensis Ha & Grushv.).

His research team used a high-pressure liquid chromatography system with evaporative scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) to determine the average content of the main active ingredient MR2 in Lai Chau ginseng samples. The result reached 4.24 ± 0.75%, a value much higher than the current regulations of the Vietnamese Pharmacopoeia. This confirms the special medicinal value of Lai Chau ginseng.

However, currently Lai Chau ginseng is mainly used in fresh or dried form, there are no deeply processed products. Realizing the great potential, Dr. Tung’s research team has focused on developing Vietnamese red ginseng processing technology, with the expectation of creating a breakthrough for Vietnamese ginseng, similar to the success of the Korean ginseng industry. He said that red ginseng is a popular processed form of Korean ginseng, but up to now, research on processing Vietnamese ginseng has stopped at experimental scale research without any research on application to create products.

“Previously published studies on Vietnamese ginseng have shown that processing into red ginseng helps increase shelf life and improve biological effects such as antioxidant effects and liver protection compared to the unprocessed form,” said Dr. Tung.

The research and processing of Lai Chau red ginseng by the research team discovered a unique characteristic of Vietnamese red ginseng. Accordingly, after processing, the ginsenosides in Vietnamese red ginseng have a similar transformation to Korean red ginseng, in the direction of reducing the structure of bulky molecules G-Rb1, -Rd, -Rg1, to form smaller, less polar ginsenosides. This enhances the effects of these ginsenosides, similar to the effects observed in Korean red ginseng.

Meanwhile, the ocotilol compounds, especially the valuable MR2 active ingredient in Vietnamese ginseng, are still preserved intact after being processed into red ginseng. Thanks to that, Vietnamese red ginseng not only brings the same benefits as Korean red ginseng but also retains the unique valuable pharmacological properties of Vietnamese ginseng.

Talking about the challenges and difficulties in the research process, Dr. Tung said that the processing of Vietnamese Red Ginseng in production cannot be applied mechanically according to the methods that have been applied to Korean Red Ginseng but requires research to solve two basic problems. The first is to reduce the bitterness of Vietnamese ginseng while still retaining the main active ingredients, which are ginsenosides, especially the main ingredient majenosid R2. The second is to optimize the processing process to achieve optimal transformation of the physical properties of processed ginseng and the saponin content in ginseng.

This process requires months of trial and error to achieve the best results. He developed a special processing procedure to remove the impurities that cause the bitter taste, retaining only the characteristic bitter taste of the active ingredient MR2. The analysis results showed that the MR2 content in red ginseng remained at approximately 4%, equivalent to before processing.

Currently, the technology process of processing Lai Chau Red Ginseng has been applied at Thai Minh Hi-tech factory and commercialized with Lai Chau Red Ginseng box products available on the market. Also at the recent “Ginseng and International Spices and Medicinal Herbs” festival in Ho Chi Minh City, the product was well received by consumers and received positive feedback on its taste and usage.

Dr. Pham Ha Thanh Tung is currently the Director of the Vietnam Ginseng and Medicinal Materials Research Institute, Deputy Head of the Department of Medicinal Materials – Traditional Medicine, Phenikaa University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Pharmacy from Hanoi University of Pharmacy. He completed his doctoral program in Medicinal Materials at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Seoul National University. He has published 36 domestic scientific articles in the field of Medicinal Materials. He is also the head and participant of many scientific and technological research projects at all levels.