4.1. Materials

Vietnamese ginseng (VG) was collected at Tra Linh Farm, Quang Nam Province in 2016. A voucher specimen was deposited at the herbarium of College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. In total, 1.5 kg of fresh VG roots were then dried at 40 to 60 °C and subsequently ground and sieved to obtain a powder with particles lower than 425 µm.

Sun ginseng was generously provided by Ginseng Science Inc. (Seoul, Korea). Sun ginseng is heat-processed ginseng at high temperatures and pressures, resulting in G-Rg3, -Rk1, and -Rg5 being its main ginsenoside components [31].