Abstract: Five ninhydrin-positive compounds were isolated from the water extract of red ginseng through the Bio-gel P-2 column chromatography. One compound is known as arginine. Another compound is a new substance which is determined as 1'-Nα-arginine-1'-deoxy-4'-O-(α-D-glucopyranosyl)-D-fructose (AFG) through the analysis of ¹³C NMR, ¹H NMR, IR and UV spectra. Its structure is also verified through the reaction of maltose and arginine. The structures of compounds 3, 4 and 5 are being researched.

Key words: Red ginseng, Argininyl-fructosyl-glucose (AFG)