Antifungal Effect of Chitosan Hydrolysates against Ginseng Infectious Fungi Fusarium foetens

The antifungal activity of chitosan against ginseng-infectious fungi was evaluated based on the molecular weight and concentration dependence. The molecular weight distribution of the hydrolysates obtained by enzyme treatment of high molecular chitosan (HMWC) was determined using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Based on the biological activity results of chitosan hydrolysates, it was named active molecular chitosan (AMC), and its concentration-dependent antifungal activity was verified. HMWC was evaluated by its relative activity with chitosan salt (commonly used as water-soluble chitosan, WSC) with a molecular weight of approximately 600-kDa due to limitations in its use as a control due to pH-dependent solvent se