Post-harvest treatment of wild-simulated ginseng under climate-smart environmental conditions

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326237 June 18, 2025 4 / 6 DG). Ginsenoside compounds K and Rg3, which are known to be present in WSG, however, absent in FCG, were detected in post-treated WSG [5]. The post-treatment protocol successfully addresses a key challenge in WSG cultivation—maintaining ginsenoside profiles while achieving greater root mass and survival rate. Excluding the 40 specimens harvested at two months from Group A, only seven specimens in Group A and six in Group B were lost during the treatment period, resulting in an esti- mated survival rate of 97%. This high survival rate, combined with the substantial weight gains observed in both groups, suggests that the post-treatment protocol effectively supported root development while maintaining plant viability. These results indicate that post-treatment conditions promoted proportional growth regardless of initial root size, as both groups exhibited similar relative weight increases over the five months. The enhanced root development observed in our study (a 2.5-fold increase over five months) considerably exceeds the growth rates reported in traditional WSG cultivation, where annual root weight increases typically range from 30 to 50% [17]. The post-treated WSG also contained notable amounts of ginsenosides, such as CK and Rg3 [5], which are significantly more abundant in WSG than in FCG (Table 1). This suggests that post-treatment enhanced size and maintained high survival while preserving the distinctive characteristics of WSG.

Pre-treatment ginsenoside profiles were not analyzed in this study due to the study design, which prioritized monitoring of post-treatment growth and biochemical outcomes. As a result, absolute changes in ginsenoside content before and after treatment could not be quantified. Nevertheless, the detection of rare ginsenosides such as Compound K and Rg3— compounds typically absent in three-year-old FCG—may indicate a potential induction of secondary metabolite biosynthe- sis under climate-smart post-harvest conditions. This interpretation remains speculative in the absence of baseline values, and future studies should include paired pre- and post-treatment ginsenoside analyses to validate the observed biochemi- cal trends. In addition, the long-term reusability of the certified organic soil used in this study was not evaluated. Future investi- gations should assess its structural integrity, nutrient retention, and microbial stability across multiple planting cycles to determine its applicability for repeated use in commercial WSG production systems. Conclusions This study demonstrates that post-harvest treatment of WSG under controlled environmental conditions enhances root development while preserving its distinctive medicinal properties through systematic management of environmental Table 1. Analysis of ginsenoside content using UPLC in post-treated WSG. Ginsenoside Post-treated WSG (Unit: mg/g, DG) PPD Rb1 1.293 ± 0.024 Rg3 0.017 ± 0.001 Rd 0.218 ± 0.017 Mc1 0.002 ± 0.000 F2 0.011 ± 0.001 CK 0.006 ± 0.001 PPT Rg1 1.195 ± 0.121 Re 7.716 ± 0.257 Rf 0.001 ± 0.000

Total 10.458 ± 0.421 Data represent mean values ± standard error (mg/g). DG: weight of dried wild-simulated ginseng. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326237.t001