Shelf-life prediction of fresh ginseng packaged with plastic films based on a kinetic model and multivariate accelerated shelf-life testing

The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in the quality of ginseng and predict its shelf-life. As the storage period of ginseng increased, some quality indicators, such as water-soluble pectin (WSP), CDTA-soluble pectin (CSP), cellulose, weight loss, and microbial growth increased, while others (Na2CO3-soluble pectin/NSP, hemicellulose, starch, and firmness) decreased. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using the quality attribute data and the principal component 1 (PC1) scores extracted from the PCA results were applied to the multivariate analysis. The reaction rate at different temperatures and the temperature dependence of the reaction rate were determined using kinetic and Arrhenius models, respectively. Among the kinetic models, zeroth-order models with cellulose and a PC1 score provided an adequate fit for reaction rate estimation. Hence, the prediction model was constructed by applying the cellulose and PC1 scores to the zeroth-order kinetic and Arrhenius models. The prediction model with PC1 score showed higher R2 values (0.877-0.919) than those of cellulose (0.797-0.863), indicating that multivariate analysis using PC1 score is more accurate for the shelf-life prediction of ginseng. The predicted shelf-life using the multivariate accelerated shelf-life test at 5, 20, and 35°C was 40, 16, and 7 days, respectively.