ABSTRACT American ginseng fibrous roots, often discarded as bioprocessing waste, constitute a valuable source of ginsenosides with high recovery potential. This study established a systematic strategy to enrich ginsenosides from the fibrous roots using macroporous adsorption resins and to investigate the adsorption mechanisms. Among the nine resins tested, the non‐polar HPD100 resin, characterized by its styrene‐divinylbenzene copolymer matrix and high specific surface area, exhibited superior performance, with an adsorption capacity of 194.1 ± 5.8 mg/g and desorption efficiency above 98.0 ± 1.9%. Dynamic column experiments optimized the operating conditions, achieving 74.9 ± 3.0% purity and 84.9 ± 3.7% recovery at a flow rate of 3 bed volumes per hour, 2.3 ± 0.2 mg/mL sample concentration, and 80% ethanol eluent. The resin maintained stable performance over five adsorption–desorption cycles. Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses revealed that adsorption followed a pseudo‐second‐order model and Langmuir isotherm, with spontaneous and endothermic characteristics. Structural analyses, including scanning electron microscopy, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, revealed hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, and π–π stacking as key interactions. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed a thermally enhanced binding effect, demonstrating that elevated temperatures strengthen ginsenoside–resin interactions by increasing binding energy even as hydrogen bonding diminishes. This work elucidates the fundamental adsorption mechanism and establishes a theoretical basis for the high‐value valorization of American ginseng by‐products through a rationally designed, temperature‐controlled strategy.
Zhai et al. (Sun,) studied this question.