• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.220-225
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• 2008

The present investigation was performed to evaluate the homeostatic regulation of sleep architecture by the ethanol extract of Korea red ginseng (KRG), since the available data were often controversial. In addition, it was also interested in whether the sleep-wake stages were differently affected by low and high doses of KRG. Each adult Wistar male rat was implanted with a transmitter for recording EEG and activity via telemetry. After one week of surgery, polygraphic signs of undisturbed sleep-wake activities were recorded for 12 h (between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm) after KRG administration. KRG (10 and 100 mg/kg) increased non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep as well as total sleep. The total percentages of wakefulness were decreased comparably. KRG (10 mg/kg) decreased the power density of the ${\delta}-wave$ (0.75-4.5 Hz) and increased ${\alpha}-wave$ (8.0-13.0 Hz) in the NREM and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. KRG also decreased ${\delta}-wave$ power density in wake time. However, KRG (100 mg/kg) increased ${\delta}-wave$ and decreased ${\theta}-wave$ (5.0-9.0 Hz) power density in wake time, while showed little effect on the power density in NREM and REM sleep. In conclusion, low and high doses of KRG increase spontaneous sleep and NREM sleep and differently regulate the EEG spectra in REM and NREM sleep.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.144-150
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• 2017

Background: The presence of gross deletions in the human immunodeficiency virus nef gene ($g{\Delta}nef$) is associated with long-term nonprogression of infected patients. Here, we investigated how quickly genetic defects in the nef gene are associated with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) intakein 10 long-term slow progressors. Methods: This study was divided into three phases over a 20-yr period; baseline, KRG intake alone, and KRG plus highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART). nef gene amplicons were obtained using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested PCR from 10 long-term slow progressors (n = 1,396), and nested PCR from 36 control patients (n = 198), and 28 ART patients (n = 157), and these were then sequenced. The proportion of $g{\Delta}nef$, premature stop codons, and not in-frame insertion or deletion of a nucleotide was compared between three phases, control, and ART patients. Results: The proportion of defective nef genes was significantly higher in on-KRG patients (15.6%) than in baseline (5.7%), control (5.6%), on-KRG plus ART phase (7.8%), and on-ART patients (6.6%; p < 0.01). Small in-frame deletions or insertions were significantly more frequent among patients treated with KRG alone compared with controls (p < 0.01). Significantly fewer instances of genetic defects were detected in samples taken during the KRG plus ART phase (7.8%; p < 0.01). The earliest defects detected were $g{\Delta}nef$ and small in-frame deletions after 7 mo and 67 mo of KRG intake, respectively. Conclusion: KRG treatment might induce genetic defects in the nef gene. This report provides new insight into the importance of genetic defects in the pathogenesis of AIDS.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.183-191
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• 2010

Dry mouth is easily neglected if not associated with oral diseases. Consequently, xerostomatic patients often use unconventional therapies. In traditional Korean medicine, Korean red ginseng (KRG) has long been used to relieve dry mouth. However, no clinical trials have investigated whether KRG actually has an effect on dry mouth. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of KRG for dry mouth. We enrolled 100 volunteers with no obvious oral or salivary gland diseases and divided them into KRG and placebo groups. Each group was divided into six subgroups according to age and gender. The subjects received 6 g/day of KRG or placebo for 8 weeks. The dry mouth visual analog scale (VAS), salivary flow rate, and a dry mouth-related symptom questionnaire were evaluated at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks. KRG treatment did not show any significant differences for any of the variables. However, KRG improved the dry mouth VAS at 4 weeks and dry mouthrelated symptoms at 8 weeks in women, but not in men. Subgroup analyses revealed that KRG markedly improved the dry mouth VAS in women of menopausal age (40 to 59 years) at 4 and 8 weeks. KRG may have beneficial effects for dry mouth in women, especially those of menopausal age, but not in men. Further investigation in post- and perimenopausal women is required to elaborate on these findings.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.312-318
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• 2019

Background: To date, no study has described disease progression in Asian patients infected with HIV-1 subtype D. Methods: To determine whether the disease progression differs in patients infected with subtypes D and B prior to starting combination antiretroviral therapy, the annual decline (AD) in $CD^{4+}$ T cell counts over $96{\pm}59months$ was retrospectively analyzed in 163 patients and compared in subtypes D and B based on the nef gene. Results: $CD^{4+}$ T cell AD was significantly higher in the six subtype D-infected patients than in the 157 subtype B-infected patients irrespective of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) treatment (p < 0.001). Of these, two subtype D-infected patients and 116 subtype B-infected patients had taken KRG. AD was significantly lower in patient in the KRG-treated group than in those in the $KRG-na{\ddot{i}}ve$ group irrespective of subtype (p < 0.05). To control for the effect of KRG, patients not treated with KRG were analyzed, with AD found to be significantly greater in subtype D-infected patients than in subtype B-infected patients (p < 0.01). KRG treatment had a greater effect on AD in subtype D-infected patients than in subtype B-infected patients (4.5-fold vs. 1.6-fold). Mortality rates were significantly higher in both the 45 $KRG-na{\ddot{i}}ve$ (p < 0.001) and all 163 (p < 0.01) patients infected with subtype D than subtype B. Conclusion: Subtype D infection is associated with a >2-fold higher risk of death and a 2.9-fold greater rate of progression than subtype B, regardless of KRG treatment.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.684-691
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• 2019

Background: We have reported that defective nef and gag genes are induced in HIV-1-infected patients treated with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG). Methods: To investigate whether KRG treatment and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) affect genetic defects in the pol gene, we amplified and sequenced a partial pol gene (p-pol) containing the integrase portion (1.2 kb) by nested PCR with sequential peripheral blood mononuclear cells over 20 years and compared it with those patients at baseline, in control patients, those taking ginseng-based combination therapy (GCT; KRG plus combinational antiretroviral therapy) and HAART alone. We also compared our findings to look for the full-length pol gene (pol) (3.0-kb) Results: Twenty-patients infected with subtype B were treated with KRG for $116{\pm}58months$ in the absence of HAART. Internal deletion in the pol gene (${\Delta}pol$) was significantly higher in the KRG group (11.9%) than in the control group and at baseline; its detection was significantly inhibited during GCT as much as during HAART. In addition, the ${\Delta}pol$ in p-pol significantly depended on the duration of KRG treatment. In pol, the proportion of ${\Delta}pol$ was significantly higher in the KRG group (38.7%) than in the control group, and it was significantly inhibited during GCT and HAART. In contrast, the proportion of stop codon appeared not to be affected by KRG treatment. The PCR success rate was significantly decreased with longer GCT. Conclusion: The proportion of ${\Delta}pol$ depends on template size as well as KRG treatment. HAART decreases the detection of ${\Delta}pol$.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제46권5호
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• pp.690-699
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• 2022

Background: Few studies reported the therapeutic effect of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) in lung inflammatory diseases. However, the anti-inflammatory role and underlying molecular in cadmium-induced lung injury have been poorly understood, directly linked to chronic lung diseases (CLDs): chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer etc. Therefore, in this study we aim to investigate the therapeutic activities of water extract of KRG (KRG-WE) in mouse cadmium-induced lung injury model. Method: The anti-inflammatory roles and underlying mechanisms of KRG-WE were evaluated in vitro under cadmium-stimulated lung epithelial cells (A549) and HEK293T cell line and in vivo in cadmium-induced lung injury mouse model using semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), luciferase assay, immunoblotting, and FACS. Results: KRG-WE strongly ameliorated the symptoms of CdSO4-induced lung injury in mice according to total cell number in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and severity scores as well as cytokine levels. KRG-WE significantly suppressed the upregulation of inflammatory signaling comprising mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and their upstream enzymes. In in vitro study, KRG-WE suppressed expression of interleukin (IL)-6, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and IL-8 while promoting recovery in CdSO₄-treated A549 cells. Similarly, KRG-WE reduced phosphorylation of MAPK and c-Jun/c-Fos in cadmium-exposed A549 cells. Conclusion: KRG-WE was found to attenuate symptoms of cadmium-induced lung injury and reduce the expression of inflammatory genes by suppression of MAPK/AP-1-mediated pathway.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.336-341
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• 2010

One mechanism of inner ear damage by noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Because Korean red ginseng (KRG) has an anti-ROS effect in various tissues, KRG may have a role in preventing NIHL. A window period exists in which ROS formations continue after noise exposure, and further damage can be prevented by antioxidants. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of KRG after exposure to noise. KRG (200 mg/kg) was fed to mice for 3 days after noise exposure. The change in hearing level was analyzed by measuring the auditory brainstem response. To induce a temporary threshold shift (TTS) of hearing, mice were exposed to 110 dB white noise for 3 hours. Fast recovery of hearing was observed in mice fed KRG 1 hour and 1 day after noise exposure for 3 days. The expression of 8-oxoguanine was not observed in the inner ears of mice fed KRG 1 hour after noise exposure, but was evident in the stria vascularis of mice in the control group (noise exposure only). From this study, we conclude that KRG acted as an effective inhibitor of NIHL in TTS cases.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.308-311
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• 2020

Extracts of ginseng species show antihyperglycemic activity. We evaluated the inhibitory effects of diabetic complications for Korean Red Ginseng (KRG), which is enriched in ginsenosides using Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. The animals were divided into one of four groups (n = 6~9): Long-Evans-Tokushima-Otsuka rats (control rats), OLETF rats, rats given 200 mg/kg KRG, and rats given 400 mg/kg KRG. We examined the protective potential of KRG against type 2 diabetic illnesses. The results exhibited that KRG showed significant antihyperglycemic and antioxidative effects in KRG-treated OLETF rats. And, our results proposed the amelioration of cardiac function through normalized ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and vascular reactivity. Furthermore, histopathological abnormalities in the OLETF rats were prevented by KRG treatment.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.175-180
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• 2007

고려홍삼이 HIV-1 감염자에게서 바이러스의 활발한 증식으로 유발된 면역계의 과활성화를 장기간에 걸쳐 억제하는지 살펴보기 위해 면역 활성화 지표인 soluble CD8항원(sCD8)을 측정하였다. HIV-1 감염 대조군 49명, zidovudine (ZDV) 복용군 22명, KRG 복용군 48명, KRG와 ZDV 병용군(49명)을 대상으로 하였다. HIV-1 감염 대조군에서는 혈청 sCD8 농도가 31-48개월 동안 33% 증가하였으며(P < 0.05), sCD8/CD8+T 림프구 비도 $21{\pm}13$개월동안 54% 증가하였다(P < 0.001). ZDV 복용군에서는 혈청 sCD8농도가 초기 6개월 동안은 감소하였으나 그 이후로는 서서히 증가하였으며, sCD8/CD8+T 림프구 비도 증가하였다. KRG 복용군은 sCD8 농도가 31-48개월 동안 45% 감소하였으며(P < 0.01), sCD8/CD8+T 림프구 비도 $19\;{\pm}\;11$개월 동안 19% 감소하였다(P < 0.05). 병용군에서는 sCD8 농도가 31-48개월 동안 29%(P < 0.01) 감소하였다. 추적관찰 기간 동안 각 군간의 sCD8 농도 변화가 명확한 차이를 보였으며, KRG 복용군에서는 ZDV 복용군에서 관찰된 'rebound현상'(sCD8이 초기에 감소하다가 다시 증가하는 경향)이 없었다. 결론적으로 본 연구에서는 HIV-1 감염환자에서 KRG를 장기간 복용시켰을 경우 sCD8 농도가 지속적으로 감소하여, KRG가 면역계의 소모적인 과활성화 상태를 방지함을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.425-427
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• 2024

This study presents a preliminary exploration into the effect of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) on the cerebellum in individuals with cerebellar atrophy. Over a three month-long period, nine subjects received a 4.5g of KRG daily, with assessments including the ARS, ADAS-Cog, and FDG-PET/CT scans. Results revealed a notable improvement in ataxia and cognitive function without a significant correlation between them. PET/CT scans and SUVR analyses supported these findings, showing an increase in cerebellar glucose uptake after KRG intake. These outcomes suggest a potential pleiotropic effect of KRG on cerebellar function.