• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2011

Backgrounds: Multidisciplinary approaches including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are currently being performed to target various cancers in Western Medicine. However, some cancers still remain difficult to battle, which has long attracted many scientists for the discovery of new agents to fight cancers. Ginseng is one of the herbs used in Oriental Medicine including Korea, China and Japan. We have further investigated ginseng for its anticancer effect. Objective: This is a comprehensive review summary of anticancer effect of ginseng and ginsenoids as a possible agent for future cancer treatment. Methods: Data were retrieved from two web sites; www.pubmed.com and www.riss.kr, and authorized texts concerning anticancer effects of ginseng. From collected data, information on anticancer effect of ginseng was thoroughly sorted, restructured, then assessed. Results: Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer belongs to Araliaceae Panax family, a perennial prairie plant with its root known as Ginseng Radix. Ginseng induces anticancer effect through cell cycle arrest, acceleration of apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, and suppression of metastasis. Anticancer effect of ginseng may be due to single compound or multi-compound actions. Many studies report involvement of immune mechanisms of cytokines, Natural Killer (NK) cells, macrophages and some antibodies in enhancing anticancer effect of ginseng. In near future, possibility of applying these mechanisms into clinical trials is convinced. There were some important findings on saponin in ginsenoids in reviewing for this article; First, eradication of metastatic tumors were influenced by macrophage activation. Second, suppression of malignant melanoma cell metastasis to lung were induced by macrophage and NK cell activation in spleen with red ginseng acidic polysaccharide (RGAP). Third, final metabolites of M1, M4 had exerted anticancer effect of ginseng. Conclusion: Unknown anticancer mechanisms of ginseng have been studied for many years up until now. Ginseng is comprised of multiple bio-chemical compounds that create complex pharmaceutical interactions. Therefore, for its proper usage and safe prescription, studies on different types of ginseng and patients' susceptibility to ginseng according to their constitution and stages of the disease should be further pursued. More efforts are needed to understand the anticancer mechanisms of ginseng as well.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.363-369
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• 2003

In this study, cell cracker method as a non-collision method was evaluated for the possibility of new red ginseng grinding technique. The moisture contents were 3.16% for the powder pulverized by hammer mill (group A) and 6.30% for the powder produced by cell cracker (group B), and the difference between both groups was significant, The contents of other component such as ash, crude lipid, reducing sugar, total sugar, acidic polysaccharide, crude fiber and crude protein between both groups were not significant. There were no significant differences in phenolic compound, fatty acid, amino acid, free sugar, crude saponin and ginsenosid contents between both groups. And also the contents of mineral components were evaluated to determine the incorporation of red ginseng powder during grinding, and also the differences of those between both groups were not significant.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.84-91
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• 2016

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) has been used as a traditional herbal medicine in East Asia and is very popular in the world, because of its health benefits. To comparison of pharmacological components and physiochemical properties between white and red ginseng from same body, we analyzed ginsenoside and malonyl ginsenoside, ash, crude lipid/protein, fatty acid, mineral contents, total/reducing sugar, and total phenolic and acidic polysaccharide contents. The general components did not show any significant difference between white and red ginseng. Whereas, the content of neutral ginsenoside $Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, Rc and Rd were higher in red ginseng than those of white ginseng. However, malonyl ginsenoside such as $m-Rb_1$, $m-Rb_2$, m-Rc and m-Rd in white ginseng were similar to neutral ginsenoside $Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, Rc and Rd in white ginseng and far higher than those of red ginseng. These results exhibit that malonyl ginsenosides were converted to neutral ginsenosides in steaming process for red ginseng. So, we suggest that malonyl ginsenoside are necessary to applies in ginsenoside analysis of Korean ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

The quality attributes of coffee treated with different concentrations of white ginseng extract were examined. Increased concentration of white ginseng extract was associated with higher color values (Hunter L. a, b scale). The crude saponin contents of untreated roasted coffee beans (control) and those coated with $5^{\circ}$ Brix (WGC-1) and $20^{\circ}$ Brix white ginseng extract (WGC-2) were 8.29%, 8.74%, and 8.93%, respectively. The total ginsenoside contents of WGC-1 and WGC-2 were 0.3 mg/g and 0.6 mg/g, respectively. In the case of major ginsenosides, the contents of ginsenosides $Rg_1,\;Rg_2,\;Rb_1,\;Rb_2,\;Rg_2,\;Rh_1$, and $Rg_3$ increased directly with the concentration of white ginseng extract. Total sugar and acidic polysaccharide contents also increased directly with the concentration of white ginseng extract. The coffee beans coated with ginseng extract scored significantly higher ginseng taste scores than the control (p<0.005) in sensory evaluation. In terms of coffee taste, WGC-2 had significantly lower scores than the commercial coffee bean. In the consumer sensory evaluation, overall preference did not differ significantly among the treatments.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 1998

Antiulcer effects of ginseng saponin, acidic polysaccharide and methanol extract of Panax ginseng in the patients and experimental animals were reported. Postulated action mechanisms of ginseng were histamine-Ht receptor blocking and increasing gastric blood flow In the present study, the effect of ginsenosides, the biologically active glycosides of ginseng, on gastric acid secretion was examined using gastric cells isolated from human and rabbit gastric mucosa. Ginseng saponin, ginsenoside $Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, $Rg_1$ and $Rh_2$ were tested in unstimulated as well as stimulated gastric cells. Histamine ($10^4$M) and 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine ($10^4$M) were used as secretagogues. To investigate the mechanism of ginsenosides on acid secretion, the levels of cAMP and cGMP were monitored in gastric cells. As a result, high concerltration(1mg/ml) of ginseng saponin showed 73-75% of stimulated acid secretion in control gastric cells. However, ginseng saponin had no effect on unstimulated acid secretion and the levels of cGMP and cAMP in gastric cells. Ginsenoside $Rb_1$, $Rb_2$ and $Rh_2$ significantly inhibited stimulated acid secretion. Gastric cGMP levels were increased by all ginsenosides tested while cAMP levels were increased by all ginsenosides in unstimulated state of gastric cells, but increased by ginsenosides ginsenoside $Rg_1$ and $Rh_2$in stimulated state of gastric cells. The results suggest that inhibition of ginseng saponin on gastric acid secretion represents a complex effect of individual ginsenosides, which produce a range of effect on acid secretion. The inhibition site of ginseng saponin on stimulated acid secretion is postulated as post cAMP levels in acid secretary pathway such as protein phosphorylation or proton pump. Nitric oxide may not be involved in the inhibitory effect of ginseng saponin on stimulated acid secretion.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.610-617
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• 2016

Current study was performed to investigate the effect of morphological properties of black ginseng such as size and shape on the quality of black ginseng. The raw ginsengs were separated based on size (medium, large, and extra-large) and shape (straight ginseng, fibrous root ginseng). Subsequently, the raw ginsengs were steamed at $95^{\circ}C$ for 3 h and dried in the presence of heated air at $50^{\circ}C$ for 30 h. This process was repeated nine times for black ginseng production. The physiochemical properties such as the content of acidic polysaccharides, ginsenosides, and antioxidative activity were evaluated. Although minor difference in physiochemical properties such as acidic polysaccharide content in raw ginseng was observed, no statistical difference in the content of acidic polysaccharides, total phenols, and ginsenosides was observed during final black ginseng production based on size classification. The minor ginsenosides in fibrous root black ginseng, such as Rk3, Rh4, Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5 were higher in content than straight black ginseng. However, no correlation between the shape of ginseng and total phenol content and antioxidative activity was observed. Therefore, present results demonstrate that the difference in ginseng size in same-age and -production area does not affect the quality of black ginseng. Furthermore, difference in ginseng shape does not influence the overall quality of black ginseng. It is hypothesized that this study would be considered as supportive data for the production of high-quality black ginseng.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.128-136
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• 2014

Alginates are linear acidic polysaccharides composed with (1-4)-linked ${\alpha}$-L-guluronic acid and ${\beta}$-Dmannuronic acid. Alginate can be degraded by diverse alginate lyases, which cleave the alginate using a ${\beta}$-elimination reaction and produce unsaturated uronate oligomers. A gene for a polyMG-specific alginate lyase possessing a novel structure was previously identified and cloned from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia KJ-2. Homology modeling of KJ-2 polyMG-specific alginate lyase showed it belongs to the PL6 family, whereas three Azotobacter vinelandii polyMG lyases belong to the PL7 family of polysaccharide lyases. From $^1H$-NMR spectra data, KJ-2 polyMG lyase preferably degraded the M-${\beta}$(1-4)-G glycosidic bond than the G-${\alpha}$(1-4)-M glycosidic bond. Seventeen mutants were made by site-directed mutagenesis, and alginate lyase activity was analyzed. Lys220Ala, Arg241Ala, Arg241Lys, and Arg265Ala lost alginate lyase activity completely. Arg155Ala, Gly303Glu, and Tyr304Phe also lost the activity by 60.7-80.1%. These results show that Arg155, Lys220, Arg241, Arg265, Gly303, and Tyr304 are important residues for catalytic activity and substrate binding.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.566-571
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• 2009

The principal objective of this study was to use a fermentation and extrusion process in order to improve the antioxidant properties of original Sangmaksan (ES), containing maekmoondong, omija, and white ginseng. The antioxidant activities of fermented Sangmaksan prepared with different types of ginseng [white (FSW), red (FSR), and extruded white (FSE)], were investigated. The white ginseng powder was extruded at 20% moisture content and $120^{\circ}C$ of the maximum process temperature at the barrel. The antioxidant properties of Sangmaksan were increased after fermentation. Interestingly, the fermented Sangmaksan containing the extruded white ginseng evidenced more potent antioxidant properties than the fermented Sangmaksan containing white ginseng. The content of total phenolic compounds, DPPH-radical scavenging activity, acidic polysaccharide, reducing power, and total anthocyanin were highest with FSR, followed by FSE, FSW and ES, respectively. Additionally, superoxide dismutase-like activity and total flavonoid contents were highest in the fermented Sangmaksan containing extruded white ginseng. In conclusion, it can be asserted that the fermentation and extrusion process utilized in this study may prove to be an effective new process for the production of high-quality Sangmaksan.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.355-361
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• 2009

In this study, raw ginseng produced by different methods was puffed, and physicochemical properties were analyzed and compared. Raw ginseng included white ginseng lateral root (WGL), red ginseng lateral root (RGL), red ginseng main root (RGM), and red ginseng main root with 15% (w/w) moisture (RGMM). All samples were puffed at a pressure of 7 kg/cm2. Crude saponin content was increased after puffing compared with that of control ginseng. RGM and RGMM showed significant increases in crude saponin content, from 1.67% and 1.41% to 2.84% and 3.09% (all w/w), respectively. However, the ginsenoside content of WGL was decreased after puffing. Rg3, Rh1, and Rh2 values of red ginseng were increased by puffing compared with those of control red ginseng. The total sugar content of ginseng decreased after puffing. The mineral components of puffed ginseng were similar to those of raw ginseng. Levels of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities of ginseng were increased after puffing, and electron-donating ability was greatly increased. The acidic polysaccharide content of ginseng increased slightly and the amino acid content decreased due to the high temperature used during puffing.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.264-269
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• 2001

Large amounts of orange juice are produced in Japan every yea.. Accompanied by the production of orange juice, large amount of juice residues are also generated in nearly the same amounts with juice. Although, at present, some of these residues are marketed as a feed for cattle after drying and mixing with lime, the marketing price is lower than its production cost and the difference is paid by the consumers as a part of the price of orange juice. In the present work, we developed new innovative use of orange juice residue, a biomass waste, as adsorption gel for removing toxic heavy metals such as lead. arsenic, selenium and so on as well as radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium from environments. The major components of orange juice residue are cellulose. hemicellulose and pectin, which are converted into pectic. acid, an acidic polysaccharide, by means of saponification with concentrated sodium hydroxide solution. In the previous work, we found that crosslinked pectic acid gel strongly an selectively adsorbs lead over other metals such as zinc an copper. On the other hand. it is well known that polysaccharides such as cellulose can be easily phosphorylated and that phosphorylated polysaccharides have high affinity to uranium and thorium as well as some trivalent metals such as ferric iron and aluminum. Taking account of the noticeable characteristics of these polysaccharides, 2 types of adsorption gels were prepared from orange juice residue: one is the gel which was prepared by saponificating the residue followed by crosslinking with epichlorohydrin and another is that prepared by crosslinking the residue followed by phosphorylation. The former gel exhibited excellent adsorptive separation behavior for lead away from zinc owing to high content of pectic acid while the latter gel exhibited that for uranium and thorium. Both types of adsorption gels exhibited high affinity to ferric iron, which enables selective and strong adsorption for some toxic oxo-anions of arsenic (V and III), . selenium and so on via iron loaded on these gels. These results demonstrate that biomass wastes such as orange juice residue can be effectively utilized fer the purpose of removing toxic heavy or radioactive metals existing in trace or small amounts in environments.