The functional evolution of Korea ginseng: black ginseng

Korea ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has been used in traditional medicinal foods for more than 2000 years. Because of the growing interest in personalized healthcare to prevent diseases, white ginseng (WG) is technically evolving into highly qualified products with reinforced specific functionalities of ginsenosides, such as red ginseng (RG) or black ginseng (BG). Using the PubMed research engine, we found 225 BG-related published papers from 1995 to 2024. The most common papers (n = 46) were related to processing technologies, such as ginsenoside transformation, manufacturing processes and product evaluation. Reviewing papers on the functionality of BG with in vitro and in vivo models, they usually cover the basic mechanism of functionality, such as antioxidant (n = 38), antitumor (n = 28), menopausal (n = 26), anti-inflammatory (n = 24) and immune (n = 20) mechanisms. There are insufficient studies that are directly related to diseases such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and liver disease; moreover, a significant randomized controlled trials study of BG was not found. In this study, we reviewed the research trends on the technologies and functionalities of BG in Korea and forecasted the potential of BG as a new material for healthcare in the industry.