Total polysaccharide contents in Panax ginseng roots were evaluated by a spectrophotometry, utilizing the complex formation of ginseng polysaccharide with alcian blue dye in 50 mM ammonium biphosphate, pH 4.2. The total polysaccharide content in red ginseng was about three times higher than that in fresh ginseng when both were extracted with water, and was increased about two times when red ginseng was extracted with an alkaline solution. The determination of total polysaccharide in various parts of ginseng revealed that main roots contained the component more than fine roots. Fresh ginseng sections stained by the dye showed polysaccharide mainly found in cortex and cambium but not in epidermis. Pattern-analysis on total and acidic polysaccharides from fresh and red ginsengs exhibited that the chemical compositions of the polysaccharides extracted from both ginsengs quite differed from each other.