Effects of four new processing technologies on pesticide residues and saponins content in ginseng

Pesticide residue and saponin content are two important factors affecting the quality of ginseng products. In this paper, the effects of four new drying processing technologies on pesticide residues and saponins in ginseng were studied. The change in pesticide residue was determined by GC and the content of ginsenoside was determined by HPLC. After the microwave treatment for 32 min, the degradation rate of pesticide residues was best. The degradation rates of fluazinam, BHC, PCNB, chlorpyrifos, and DDT were 58.51%, 51.39%, 58.26%, 16.54%, and 18.14%, respectively (p < 0.05). There were differences in the content of 20 ginsenoside monomers. The content of ginsenoside was highest after the microwave treatment for 32 min and the sum of 20 ginsenoside monomers was 3.00%. Drying processing had certain effects on remove pesticide residues and convert saponins of ginseng. Practical applications The results of this experiment provide a useful reference for the production of high-quality ginseng products with low pesticide residues and high saponins by physical methods, and improve the safety and quality of ginseng products, which is helpful to solve the bottleneck problem of pesticide residues that restricts the development and utilization of ginseng and its products.