The relationships between growth and ginsenoside content of wild-simulated ginseng harvested different times

Wild-simulated ginseng (WSG, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) should be grown in a natural mountain environment without artificial facilities or chemicals. Therefore, its growth and active compounds content may be affected by various environmental factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the growth and ginsenoside content of 5-year-old WSG harvested monthly for one year. In the analysis of growth characteristics of aerial part, stem length, stem diameter, leaflet length, leaflet width were significantly longer in May~July than in other harvest periods. In the root part, root length and number of rootlets gradually increased. In the analysis of ginsenoside content in aerial part, F1, F3, F5, mRb1, mRb2, mRc, Rf and Rg2S were significantly higher in April than in other harvesting periods. In the root part, most of the ginsenosides were significantly higher in April. In the correlation analysis, the composition of ginsenosides in aerial part and root part was clearly evident. In addition, the aerial part was clearly differentiated according to harvest time. The root part showed no clear difference, but there was a difference in January and April. The sum of squares of the root part was much lower than that of the aerial part, therefore, it was judged to be low significance. These results can be used as fundamental data to determine the optimal harvest time for WSG and to differentiate it from other ginsengs by analysing the ginsenoside content in the aerial part of WSG [ 1 ]. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany