• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.155-159
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• 2009

Sudden idiopathic sensorineural hearing loss is a disease that develops within several hours to several days. Its etiology has not yet been verified, but the disturbance of the circulation of blood in the inner ear, inner-ear hydrops, and viral infection are considered possible causes of the disease. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Panax ginseng extract, which is known to have a vasodilatory effect, on sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Sixty-nine patients suffering from sudden sensorineural hearing loss were admitted to Korea University Anam Hospital from March to December 2008. They were divided into the experimental (30 ears) and control (39 ears) groups. Ginseng extract (2700 mg/day, 4 weeks) was added to the therapeutic regimen in the experimental group. The effect of ginseng extract therapy was analyzed according to the factors relating to the prognosis. A considerable hearing improvement was documented in both groups (32.2 dB in the experimental group and 25.8 dB in the control group). However, there was little beneficial effect of ginseng extract on additional hearing improvement compared with control. The total recovery rate of the experimental group (80.0%) was better than that of the control group (58.9%), and the experimental group's high-tone hearing gain at 3 kHz (29.7 dB) was better than that of the control group (21.7 dB). The results of the study suggest that the effects of ginseng therapy tend to be superior to those of the conventional therapy, but the difference between the two is not statistically significant. The hearing gains tend to be in the higher frequencies and may be due to the promotion of cellular differentiation from the supporting cells.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.167-175
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• 2013

Korean red ginseng (KRG) is reported to have anti-allergic properties, including beneficial effects on asthma and atopic dermatitis. However, its effect on allergic rhinitis has not been studied extensively. This study examined how KRG affected allergic inflammation of the nasal cavity in an allergic mouse model. A total of 40 Balb/c female mice were divided into four experimental groups according to treatment and allergic state: group 1 (G1), saline only; group 2 (G2), ovalbumin (OVA); group 3 (G3), OVA+KRG; and group 4 (G4), OVA+dexamethasone. Serum IgE levels were significantly lower in the KRG treatment group (G3) than in the allergic group (G2). However, serum IgG1 levels did not differ between G2 and G3. In the nasal lavage fluid, IL-4 and IL-5 levels were significantly lower in G3 than in G2 (p<0.05). H&E and Luna staining revealed that the eosinophil count was lower in G3 and G4 than in G2 (p<0.05). Immunohistochemical staining revealed that there were fewer IL-4-, IL-5-, and MUC5AC-positive cells in G3 and G4 than in G2 (p<0.05). These results indicate that KRG reduces the nasal allergic inflammatory reaction in an allergic murine model by reducing Th2 cytokines.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.118-126
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: It is very important to monitor the residual characteristics of pesticides in pre-harvest fresh ginseng to ensure consumer safety. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-eight fresh ginseng samples were collected from 8 ginseng-growing fields 10 days before harvest and pesticide residues in fresh ginseng with and without rhizome (head of ginseng) and rhizome were analyzed for 320 pesticides by using GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS. As a result of the pesticide residue analysis, the number of pesticides detected from the fresh ginseng with rhizome, that without rhizome and rhizome were 26, 25, and 40, respectively, indicating that high number of pesticides found in rhizome, compared with the other parts. Pyraclostrobin was detected with the highest frequency in all samples, reaching to 21.2% in fresh ginseng with rhizome, 16.8% in that without rhizome, and 14.8% in rhizome. CONCLUSION: The residue levels of pesticides detected did not exceed their maximum residue limits, in spite of residual data in fresh ginseng before harvest. The amounts of the estimated daily intakes of all the detected pesticides were found to be from 0.018 to 1.818% of their acceptable daily intakes, indicating that concentrations of pesticides detected from fresh ginseng with and without rhizome collected before harvest do not pose the immediate health risks.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.138-148
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• 2011

Exponential rise in the use of mobile communication devices has generated health concerns due to radiofrequency (RF) exposure due to its close proximity to the head. Calcium binding proteins like calretinin regulate the levels of calcium ($Ca^{2+}$) which plays an important role in biological systems. Ginseng is known for maintaining equilibrium in the human body and may play a beneficial radioprotectant role against electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure. In the present study, we evaluated the radioprotective effects of red ginseng (RG) extract in a mouse model. Calretinin (CR) expression was measured using a free-floating immunohistochemical method in the hippocampus of mice after 835 MHz EMF exposure for 5 h/d for 5 d at specific absorption rate=1.6 W/kg for the different experimental groups. The control animals were treated with NaCl while the experimental animals received 10 mg/kg ginseng, or 30 mg/kg; EMF exposed mice were also treated with NaCl, 10 mg/kg ginseng (E10), or 30 mg/kg (E30). Decreases in CR immunoreactivity (IR) along with loss of CA1 and CA3 interneurons and infragranular cells were observed in the ENaCl group while such losses were not observed in the E10 and E30 groups. CR IR significantly increased in the RG-treated group compared to control and EMF-exposed groups treated with NaCl. The study demonstrates that RG extract can serve as a radioprotective agent that maintains $Ca^{2+}$ homeostasis and prevents neuronal loss in the brain hippocampal region caused by RF exposure.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 2019

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) has been known as one of the representative special and healthful products originating from Korea for 4500 to 5000 years. The word of ginseng was first mentioned in JiJuZhang(急就章), written by ShiYou during the reign of King Yuah Di of the Chien Han Dynasty, China (33-48 BC). It has been known that wild Korean ginseng grows in Korean peninsula including Manchuria and the ginseng is found only between the $33^{rd}$ and $48^{th}$ parellels of north latitude. Since the times of three kingdom in Korea at 4-7 century, which is Kokuryo, Baekje and Shila, Korea has been the chief ginseng producing country. A large quantity of ginseng was exported from Korea to China for medicinal use at that times. That was written in SamGukSaGi(三國史記) by BuSik Kim of Koryeo Dynasty in Korea in 1145. The cultivation of Korean ginseng was also recorded in Bencaogangmu(本草綱目) written by LiShi Zen during the regin of the Ming Dynasty in 1596, China. The ginseng seedling, which was known as an original method invented by imitating the method of rice transplantation, appeared in the SeungJeongWon Ilgi(the diaries of the royal secretariat, 承政院日記), 1687 in the regin of King SukJong in Korea. It was suggesting that ginseng cultivation was firstly established in the early 1600s in Korea. On the other hand, red ginseng(written as 熟參) was reported firstly in GoRyeoDoGyeong(高麗圖經)(a record of personal experience in Korea, written in 1123) by SeoGung in Song Dynasty, China. The names of Pansam(written as 板蔘) and Pasam(written as 把蔘), which were the another types of red ginseng products, were came on in the JoSeon Dynasty Annals in 1552 and 1602, respectively. Although the term of red ginseng(Hongsam in Korean) was firstly appeared in the JoSeon Dynasty Annals in 1797, it is believed to have been developed a little earlier periods from the King Jungjong(1506~1545) to the King SeonJo(1567~1608) in Korea. Then, the Korean red ginseng has begun production on a large scale in SamJeong Department of NaeJangWon(內藏院 蔘政課) in the Korean Empire(大韓帝國) in 1899. More detailed records about red ginseng production method were written in the SohoDanag Miscellany(韶濩堂集) by Taekyoung Kim at 1916 year in Korea. On the while, the efficacy of ginseng was first recorded in Shennongbencaojing(神農本草經) written in China(BC 83-96) and the efficacy has been continuously inherited.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.207.3-208
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• 2002

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.833-842
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• 2020

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a commonly encountered large intestine disease in the contemporary world that terminates into colorectal cancer; therefore, the timely treatment of UC is of major concern. Panax ginseng Meyer is an extensively consumed herbal commodity in South East Asian countries, especially Korea. It exhibits a wide range of biologically beneficial qualities for almost head-to-toe ailments in the body. Epimedium koreanum Nakai (EKN) is also a widely used traditional Korean herbal medicine used for treating infertility, rheumatism, and cardiovascular diseases. Materials and methods: Separately the anti-inflammatory activities of both red ginseng extracts (RGEs) and EKNs had been demonstrated in the past in various inflammatory models; however, we sought to unravel the anti-inflammatory activities of the combination of these two extracts in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis in mice model because the allopathic remedies for UC involve more side effects than benefits. Results: Our results have shown that the combination of RGE + EKN synergistically alleviated the macroscopic lesions in DSS-induced colitic mice such as colon shortening, hematochezia, and weight loss. Moreover, it restored the histopathological lesions in mice and decreased the levels of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines through the repression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and nucleotide-binding domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP-3) expression. In vitro, this combination also reduced the magnitude of nitric acid (NO), proinflammatory mediators and cytokine through NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells. Conclusion: In the light of these findings, we can endorse this combination extract as a functional food for the prophylactic as well as therapeutic treatment of UC in humans together with allopathic remedies.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.33 no.3 s.130
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• pp.252-256
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• 2002

In the previous study, we demonstrated that ginsenoside $Rb_1$ isolated from the butanol fraction of the head of Panax ginseng had significant gastroprotective activity on gastritis and gastric ulcer models in rats. It has been well established that drugs to have capacity of scavenging or inhibiting the generation of reactive oxygen radicals prevent the gastric mucosal injury. Ginsenoside $Rb_1$ was tested on HCl ethanol-induced gastritis in rats, DPPH-induced free radical scavenging effect, MDA assay, GSH activity, and SOD activity in gastric tissue. It showed significant inhibition in HCl ethanol-induced gastritis, and al~o significantly increase of GSH activated SOD. We speculate that the protective effect of ginsenoside $Rb_1$ against HCl ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage is originated from the increase of GSH and the activation of SOD.