• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.78-85
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• 2012

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are a population of cells that circulate in the blood stream. They play a role in angiogenesis and, therefore, can be prognostic markers of vascular repair. Ginsenoside $Rg_3$ prevents endothelial cell apoptosis through the inhibition of the mitochondrial caspase pathway. It also affects estrogen activity, which reduces EPC senescence. Sun ginseng (SG), which is heat-processed ginseng, has a high content of ginsenosides. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of SG on senescence-associated apoptosis in EPCs. In order to isolate EPCs, mononuclear cells of human blood buffy coats were cultured and characterized by their uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein (acLDL) and their binding of Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (ulex-lectin). Flow cytometry with annexin-V staining was performed in order to assess early and late apoptosis. Senescence was determined by ${\beta}$-galactosidase (${\beta}$-gal) staining. Staining with 4'-6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole verified that most adherent cells (93${\pm}$2.7%) were acLDL-positive and ulex-lectin-positive. The percentage of ${\beta}$-gal-positive EPCs was decreased from 93.8${\pm}$2.0% to 62.5${\pm}$3.6% by SG treatment. A fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis showed that 4.9% of EPCs were late apoptotic in controls. Sun ginseng decreased the apoptotic cell population by 39% in the late stage of apoptosis from control baseline levels. In conclusion, these results show antisenescent and antiapoptotic effects of SG in human-derived EPCs, indicating that SG can enhance EPC-mediated repair mechanisms.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.277-287
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• 2018

Background: Temperature is an essential condition in red ginseng processing. The pharmacological activities of red ginseng under different steam temperatures are significantly different. Methods: In this study, an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was developed to distinguish the red ginseng products that were steamed at high and low temperatures. Multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis and supervised orthogonal partial least squared discrimination analysis were used to determine the influential components of the different samples. Results: The results showed that different steamed red ginseng samples can be identified, and the characteristic components were 20-gluco-ginsenoside Rf, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rg1, and malonyl-ginsenoside Rb1 in red ginseng steamed at low temperature. Meanwhile, the characteristic components in red ginseng steamed at high temperature were 20R-ginsenoside Rs3 and ginsenoside Rs4. Polar ginsenosides were abundant in red ginseng steamed at low temperature, whereas higher levels of less polar ginsenosides were detected in red ginseng steamed at high temperature. Conclusion: This study makes the first time that differences between red ginseng steamed under different temperatures and their ginsenosides transformation have been observed systematically at the chemistry level. The results suggested that the identified chemical markers can be used to illustrate the transformation of ginsenosides in red ginseng processing.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.747-755
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• 2020

Background: Ginsenosides accumulation responses to temperature are critical to quality formation in cold-dependent American ginseng. However, the studies on cold requirement mechanism relevant to ginsenosides have been limited in this species. Methods: Two experiments were carried out: one was a multivariate linear regression analysis between the ginsenosides accumulation and the environmental conditions of American ginseng from different sites of China and the other was a synchronous determination of ginsenosides accumulation, overall DNA methylation, and relative gene expression in different tissues during different developmental stages of American ginseng after experiencing different cold exposure duration treatments. Results: Results showed that the variation of the contents as well as the yields of total and individual ginsenosides Rg1, Re, and Rb1 in the roots were closely associated with environmental temperature conditions which implied that the cold environment plays a decisive role in the ginsenoside accumulation of American ginseng. Further results showed that there is a cyclically reversible dynamism between methylation and demethylation of DNA in the perennial American ginseng in response to temperature seasonality. And sufficient cold exposure duration in winter caused sufficient DNA demethylation in tender leaves in early spring and then accompanied the high expression of flowering gene PqFT in flowering stages and ginsenosides biosynthesis gene PqDDS in green berry stages successively, and finally, maximum ginsenosides accumulation occurred in the roots of American ginseng. Conclusion: We, therefore, hypothesized that cold-induced DNA methylation changes might regulate relative gene expression involving both plant development and plant secondary metabolites in such cold-dependent perennial plant species.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.75-79
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin {TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} deficiency on the utilization and recuperation of stored fuel in exercising rats. Thirty six rats were fed either a vitamin {TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} deficient diet(-{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX}) or a control diet(+{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX}) for 5 weeks, then subdivided into 3 group: non-exercise group(NE), exercise group(EX), exercise and recuperation group(EX). EX group were exercised in treadmill({TEX}$10^{o}${/TEX}, 0.5~0.8km/h)for 2 hours and ER group were recuperated three days with the respective diet after exercise. Glucose(GLU), glycogen(GLY), protein(PRO), trigyceride(TG) and free fatty acid(FFA) were compared in plasma(P), liver(L) and skeletal muscle(M) of rats. Compared to +{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} rats, in NE group, the level of L-GLY of -{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} rats was higher, M-TG, L-PRO of -{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} rats were lower and there were no differences in P-PRO, P-FFA, P-TG, M-GLY, M-PRO and L-TG. In EX group, the levels of P-FFA, L-PRO of -{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} rats were higher. P-TG, L-TG of -{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} rats were lower and there was no difference in L-GLY. In EG group, the levels of P-GLU, P-PRO, P-RG, L-PRO of -{TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} rats were lower and there were no differences in L-GLY, L-TG, M-TG and M-GLY. these results suggest that a lowered intake of vitamin {TEX}$B_{6}${/TEX} may impair the recuperation of aminals after exercise related to exercise fuel stores although there is a compensation among stored fuel utilization during exercise.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.168-172
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• 1996

Ginsenoside Rb,, at a concentration of 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml and over, initiated the cycle of oscillation of ion flux in erythrocytes after the cells had been treated with a protonophore, carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoro-methoxyphenyl hydrazone (FCCP) and then with a $Ca^{2+}$ ionophore, A23,3,. Its action was similar to the additional portion of $Ca^{2+}$-ionophore or $Ca^{2+}$ ion to the erythrocytes. Effects of $Rg_1$ and Rf were different from that of Rb,. They did not induce the oscillation. They, however, increased the extracellular $K^{+}$ concentration and pH without returning to the initial state in the erythrocytes processed with FCCP and $A_{23187}$. We established that ginsenosides from 20-(5)-panaxatriol family induced the membrane hyperpolarization in erythrocytes, which was attenuated by the pretreatment of $Rb_1$, a major component of 20-(5)-panaxadiol.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.68 no.1
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• pp.8-19
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• 2023

Adzuki beans have gained popularity in recent years due to their health benefits. Breeding of Adzuki beans is less favorable than with other legumes due to low genetic diversity. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of 252 adzuki bean germplasms from China, Japan, and Korea using 18 agro-morphological parameters and comparing their performance to three prominent Korean cultivars: Geomguseul, Arari, and Chungjupat. Leaf shape, pod color, and seed coat color were among the qualitative traits that showed wide variations. The quantitative variables also showed wide variations among adzuki bean germplasms. Although there was no significant difference (p < 0.05), the average rate of germination declined in the order of Korean (91.44%) > Chinese (91.31%) > Japanese (87.47%) adzuki beans. Chinese adzuki beans needed fewer days to flower (DF, 58.22 days) and days to mature (DM, 107.13 days), which varied significantly compared to the Korean and Japanese adzuki beans (p < 0.05). The average number of pods per plant (PPP) and one-hundred seeds weight (HSW) were higher in Japanese adzuki beans compared to the Korean and Chinese adzuki beans although the variation of each was not significant. Almost 29.76% of the accessions had early-blooming flowers, 3.97% were premature, 21.43% produced more PPP, and 3.97% yielded more SPP compared to control cultivars. Results of hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses revealed three clusters with significant variation in all quantitative variables except for RG (p < 0.05). The key factors in multivariate analyses were DF, DM, and HSW. Our study investigated the genetic diversity of adzuki bean accessions and identified ten early maturing and ten high PPP-yielding accessions. Our findings would help farmers and breeders to select the top-performing accessions that can provide them with various options.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2017

This study investigated the quality characteristics and biological activities of rice germ fermented by Bacillus spp. During the milling process, the contents of rice germ in the rice bran (Control) were adjusted to 30% (RG30) and 70% (RG70). The approximate composition, pH, total acidity, total soluble solid, total sugar, polyphenol and flavonoid contents were measured. DPPH radical scavenging activity, xanthine oxidase (XO) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activities were also determined. We observed that the moisture content decreased after fermentation, while the crude protein was significantly increased. Fermentation remarkably lowered the pH from 5.83~6.26 to 4.77~4.93, thereby elevating the total acidity. Fermentation also increased the total solid contents, from $0.40{\sim}0.87^{\circ}Bx$ to $1.63{\sim}2.20^{\circ}Bx$. The total sugar decreased to 136.81~151.53 mg/mL from 377.56~450.64 mg/mL. Polyphenol contents were the highest in control (0.59 and 0.73 mg/mL before and after fermentation, respectively). Fermentation significantly affected the increase of the polyphenols in both rice germ 30% and 70% samples, from 0.26 and 0.28 mg GAE/g before fermentation, to 0.52 and 0.70 mg GAE/g after fermentation, respectively. There was a slight increase in the flavonoid contents after fermentation. The $IC_{50}$ value of the electron donating ability, as evaluated by the DPPH method, was the lowest in control (3.77 and 3.36 mg/mL before and after fermentation, respectively). Fermentation increased the XO inhibition activity up to 63.69% in control, 49.81% in rice germ 30%, and 59.32% in rice germ 70%. The ACE inhibition activities were also increased in the fermented control, rice germ 30% and 70%, to 40.51%, 22.69% and 33.91%, respectively.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.88-94
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• 2006

Ginseng as a raw material for production of probiotic ginseng product by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was evaluated in this study. Either white ginseng (WG) or red ginseng (RG) (1% or 5%, w/v) were directly inoculated with a 24 hold seed culture of twenty seven substrains of four different LAB ($1.0{\times}10^6CFU/ml$); Lactobacillus spp., Streptococcus/Enterococcus spp., Leuconostoc/Lactococcus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., and incubated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 24 or 48 h. Among 27 kinds of LAB, seven substrains of Lactobacillus (MG208, MG311, MG315, MG501, MG501C, MG505, MG590) and one Bifidobacterium (MG723) were selected based on their dose dependent stimulation of the growth of LAB in the presence of ginseng and changes in pH, acidity and viable cell counts during fermentation were examined. Lactobacillus MG208 specifically was found to show the best growth on 5% RG and reached nearly $14.0{\times}10^8CFU/ml$ after 48 h of fermentation and produced the titratable acidity as $0.84{\pm}0.02%$, whereas the pH was significantly lowered from $6.80{\pm}0.01\;to\;3.42{\pm}0.02$. These results indicated that ginseng can be an appropriate material to prepare the fermentation product by several strains of LAB. Therefore we should further check whether probiotic ginseng product may have synergistic health benefits of both probiotics and ginseng to serve for vegetarians and lactose-allergic consumers.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.401-412
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• 2013

Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is an oriental herbal preparation obtained from Panax ginseng Meyer (Araliaceae). To expand our understanding of the action of KRG on central nervous system (CNS) function, we examined the effects of KRG on tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression in rat primary astrocytes. KRG extract was treated in cultured rat primary astrocytes and neuron in a concentration range of 0.1 to 1.0 mg/mL and the expression of functional tPA/PAI-1 was examined by casein zymography, Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. KRG extracts increased PAI-1 expression in rat primary astrocytes in a concentration dependent manner (0.1 to 1.0 mg/mL) without affecting the expression of tPA itself. Treatment of 1.0 mg/mL KRG increased PAI-1 protein expression in rat primary astrocytes to $319.3{\pm}65.9%$ as compared with control. The increased PAI-1 expression mediated the overall decrease in tPA activity in rat primary astrocytes. Due to the lack of PAI-1 expression in neuron, KRG did not affect tPA activity in neuron. KRG treatment induced a concentration dependent activation of PI3K, p38, ERK1/2, and JNK in rat primary astrocytes and treatment of PI3K or MAPK inhibitors such as LY294002, U0126, SB203580, and SP600125 (10 ${\mu}M$ each), significantly inhibited 1.0 mg/mL KRG-induced expression of PAI-1 and down-regulation of tPA activity in rat primary astrocytes. Furthermore, compound K but not other ginsenosides such as Rb1 and Rg1 induced PAI-1 expression. KRG-induced up-regulation of PAI-1 in astrocytes may play important role in the regulation of overall tPA activity in brain, which might underlie some of the beneficial effects of KRG on CNS such as neuroprotection in ischemia and brain damaging condition as well as prevention or recovery from addiction.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.106-116
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• 2023

Background: Pirarubicin (THP) is an anthracycline antibiotic used to treat various malignancies in humans. The clinical usefulness of THP is unfortunately limited by its dose-related cardiotoxicity. Ginsenoside F1 (GF1) is a metabolite formed when the ginsenosides Re and Rg1 are hydrolyzed. However, the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of GF1 on THP-induced cardiotoxicity remain unclear. Methods: We investigated the anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative stress effects of GF1 on an in vitro model, using H9c2 cells stimulated by THP, plus trigonelline or AKT inhibitor imidazoquinoxaline (IMQ), as well as an in vivo model using THP-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent test, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), creatine kinase (CK-MB), cardiac troponin (c-TnT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) were determined. Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived2)-like 2 (Nrf2) and the expression of Nrf2 target genes, including heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione-S-transferase (Gst), glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM), and expression levels of AKT/Bcl-2 signaling pathway proteins were detected using Western blot analysis. Results: THP-induced myocardial histopathological damage, electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities, and cardiac dysfunction were reduced in vivo by GF1. GF1 also decreased MDA, BNP, CK-MB, c-TnT, and LDH levels in the serum, while raising SOD and GSH levels. GF1 boosted Nrf2 nuclear translocation and Nrf2 target gene expression, including HO-1, Gst, and GCLM. Furthermore, GF1 regulated apoptosis by activating AKT/Bcl-2 signaling pathways. Employing Nrf2 inhibitor trigonelline and AKT inhibitor IMQ revealed that GF1 lacked antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects. Conclusion: In conclusion, GF1 was found to alleviate THP-induced cardiotoxicity via modulating Nrf2 and AKT/Bcl-2 signaling pathways, ultimately alleviating myocardial oxidative stress and apoptosis.