• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.264-269
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• 2014

Background: In this study, we examined the effects of various enzymes on chemical conversions of ginsenosides in ginseng extract prepared by amylases. Methods: Rapidase, Econase CE, Viscozyme, Ultraflo L, and Cytolase PCL5 were used for secondary enzymatic hydrolysis after amylase treatment of ginseng extract, and ginsenoside contents, skin permeability, and chemical compositions including total sugar, acidic polysaccharide, and polyphenols were determined on the hydrolyzed ginseng extract. Results: Rapidase treatment significantly elevated total ginsenoside contents compared with the control (p < 0.05). In particular, deglycosylated ginsenosides including Rg3, which are known as bioactive compounds, were significantly increased after Rapidase treatment (p < 0.05). The Rapidase-treated group also increased the skin permeability of polyphenols compared with the control, showing the highest level of total sugar content among the enzyme treatment groups. Conclusion: This result showed that Rapidase induced the conversion of ginsenoside glycosides to aglycones. Meanwhile, Cytolase PCL5 and Econase treatments led to a significant increase of uronic acid (acidic polysaccharide) level. Taken together, our data showed that the treatments of enzymes including Rapidase are useful for the conversion and increase of ginsenosides in ginseng extracts or products.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2000

Ginseng (the root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, Araliaceae) has been used for traditional medicine in China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries. It is most often used as a general tonic, and it involves a wide range of pharmacological actions, such as antiaging, adaptogen-like effect to foreign deleterious infringement, immunoenhancement, antistress, antitumor, and antioxidant actions. Red ginseng showed anticarcinogenic activity against various chemical carcinogens in mouse and cancer-preventive effect of human being as on mice in experimental and epidemiological studies. In the present study, we have found the protective properties of red ginseng against vinyl carbamate (VC) which is the proximate carcinogen of ethyl carbamate and its ultimate carcinogenic epoxides. Red ginseng exhibited dose-dependent inhibition on the mutagenci activities of boty VC in the presence of S9 mix and vinyl carbamate epoxide (VCO) without metabolic activation in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535. Formation of DNA adducts from VCO was also attenuated in the presence of red ginseng. Oral administration of red ginseng prior to the topical application of each of the above carcinogens and TPA treatment resulted in significant reduction in both incidence and multiplicity of skin tumors in mice. These results indicate that red ginseng possesses a strong chemopreventive effect against mouse skin carcinogenesis induced by VC or VCO.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.339-343
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• 2011

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well known environmental carcinogens. PAH metabolites, especially BaP-7,8- dihydrodiol, 9,10 epoxide, initiate carcinogenesis via high specificity binding to DNA to form DNA adducts. The Korean red ginseng (KRG) from Panax ginseng has been suggested to protect against damages due to PAH exposure but the mechanism is unknown. Therefore, we investigated effects of KRG on PAH exposure using toxicokinetic methods and changes of PAH-induced oxidative damage during a 2 week-clinical trial (n=21 healthy young female, $23.71{\pm}2.43$ years). To analyze antioxidative effects of KRG, we measured changes in the levels of urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) before and after KRG treatment. We observed a significant positive association between levels of urinary MDA and 1-hydroxypyrene, a biomarker of PAH exposures (slope=1.47, p=0.03) and confirmed oxidative stress induced by PAH exposures. A reverse significant correlation between KRG treatment and level of urinary MDA was observed (p=0.03). In summary, results of our clinical trial study suggest that KRG plays a significant role in antioxidative as well as toxicokinetic pathways against PAHs exposure.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.194-200
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• 2013

Korean red ginseng (KRG) is prepared by the process of steaming the roots of Panax ginseng. In this study, the feeding effects of KRG-water extract (KRGE) on ethanol-induced liver damage were elucidated by measuring serum biomarkers in rats. Serum ${\gamma}$-glutamyltranspeptidase (g-GT) activity and the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly increased by short-term and long-term ethanol treatment in rats, whereas the activities of serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) did not respond. Pretreatment with KRGE maintained the activity of serum GPT, and the MDA concentration induced by short-term ethanol ingestion remained within the normal range. However, co-feeding of KRGE to rats decreased the concentration of MDA but failed to modulate the serum ${\gamma}$-GT activity induced by long-term ethanol treatment. Our studies suggest that in rats, it appears that KRGE does not sufficiently reverse the physiological response evoked by long-term ethanol ingestion to maintain normal conditions, in view of the serum biomarker ${\gamma}$-GT, regardless of KRGE's favorable antioxidant activity.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.294-300
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• 2011

Zearalenone (ZEA) is a phenolic resorcylic acid lactone compound produced by several species of Fusarium. ZEA has toxic effects in the testes of domestic and laboratory animals. Korean red ginseng (KRG), the steamed root of Panax ginseng Meyer, has multiple pharmacological effects such as vasorelaxation, anti-thrombosis, anti-hypertension, etc. In this study, we investigated the effects of KRG extract on testicular toxicity induced by ZEA. Rats were treated with 300 mg/kg oral doses of KRG for 4 weeks every other day. The rats were then treated with a single dose of 5 mg/kg ZEA delivered intraperitoneally, whereas control rats received only doses of the vehicle. As a result, germ cell apoptosis induced by ZEA was decreased by KRG pre-treatment. In addition, Fas and Fas-L expression was reduced in rats that received KRG pre-treatment compared to ones treated with ZEA alone. In conclusion, impaired spermatogenesis resulting from ZEA treatment was prevented by KRG through Fas-Fas L modulating.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 2016

Fresh ginseng roots were aged in an oven at $80^{\circ}C$ for 14 d. The in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities of this aged ginseng, in comparison with those of the white and red ginsengs, were evaluated. In in vitro antioxidant assays, the ethanolic extracts from aged ginseng showed significantly higher free radical scavenging activity and reducing power than those of the white and red ginsengs. In in vivo antioxidant assays, mice were fed a high fat diet supplemented with white, red, or aged ginseng powders. High fat feeding resulted in a significant increase in lipid peroxidation and a substantial decrease in antioxidant enzymes activities in the animals. However, diet supplementation of ginseng powders, particularly aged ginseng, markedly reduced lipid peroxidation and enhanced the antioxidant enzymes activities. The results illustrate that the aged ginseng has greater in vitro and in vivo antioxidant capacity than the white and red ginsengs. The aged ginseng also showed considerably higher total saponin, phenolic, and flavonoid contents, indicating that its antioxidant capacity may have been partly due to its high levels of antioxidant compounds. This new ginseng product may be useful as a functional food with strong antioxidant potential.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2012

Objectives : This experimental study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effects of combination with Korean red ginseng and Gastrodia rhizoma on vascular dysfunction in high-fat/cholesterol diet-induced hyperlipidemia. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with 7.5% cocoa butter and 1.25% cholesterol for 10 weeks, with Panax ginseng (PG), and mixtures of Panax ginseng and Gastrodia rhizoma (PGM), respectively. Results : Chronic treatment with PG and PGM significantly decreased body weight. The aortic expression of cell adhesion molecules such as intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and E-selectin were markedly increased in hyperlipidemia rats. Interestingly, PGM significantly decreased cell adhesion molecules expression. However, there was no significant decrease in PG group. In addition, PG and PGM group inhibited high-fat/cholesterol diet-induced cytokine such as monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) mRNA expression. Furthermore, PG and PGM group significantly decreased c-reactive protein protein (CRP) level. Especially, PGM significantly accentuated the decrease of MCP-1 mRNA expression and CRP level. Conclusions : the present study provides an evidence that combination with Panax ginseng and Gastrodia rhizoma enhances anti-vascular protective effects through suppression of vascular inflammation in hyperlipidemic rats.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 2013

Aging is the single most important risk factor that increases susceptibility to many forms of diseases. As such, much effort has been put forward to elucidate the mechanisms behind the processes of aging and to discover novel compounds that retain anti-aging activities. Korean red ginseng has been used for a variety of medical purposes in eastern countries for several thousands of years. It has been shown that Korean red ginseng affects a number of biological activities including, but not limited to, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and anti-diabetic pathways. However, few studies have been performed to evaluate its anti-aging effects with an in vivo system. Here Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model organism demonstrates that Korean red ginseng tonic extends lifespan, increases resistance to starvation stress and prevents weight gain. This data suggest that Korean red ginseng may regulate organisms' metabolism in favor of extending lifespan.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.145-252
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• 1987

Isolated rat adipocytes are well known to possess opposite pathways of lipid metabolism: lipolysis and ipogenesis. Both of the metabolism respond to various biologically active substances such as epinephrine, ACTH and insulin. Epinephrine and ACTH stimulate lipolysis and insulin accelerates lipogenesis. Recently, Korean red ginseng powder was found to contain adenosine and an acidic poptide which inhibited epinephrine-induced lipolysis and sl imulated insulin-mediated lipogenesis from added glucose. The acidic peptide is consisted mainly of glutamic acid and glucose. Ginsenosides Rb1 and Re inhibited ACTH-induced lipolysis in isolated rat adipocytes, while they did not affect insulinstimulated lipogenesis, Thus, all these substances extracted from Korean red ginseng exhibited selective modulations toward the opposite metabolic pathways in rat adipocyte; They inhibited the lipolysis but not the lipogenesis. We call these substances"selective modulators". Recently, we isolated a toxic substance named "toxohormone-L " from ascites fluid of patients with various malignant tumors. The toxohormone-L stimulated lipolysis in rat adipocytes and induced anorexia in rats. Both the lipolytic and the anorexigenic actions of toxohormone-L were found to be inhibited by ginsenoside Rb2 in Korean red ginseng. Based on these results, physiological signifi¬cances of these substances in Korean red ginseng were discussed. Pan ax ginseng is a medicinal plant long used in treatment of various pathological states including general complaints such as head ache, shoulder ache, chilly constitution and anorexia in cancer patients, There have been many pharmacological studies on Panax ginseng roots. Petkovllreported that oral administration of an aqueous alcoholic extract of ginseng roots decreased the blood sugar levtl of rabbits. Saito2lreported that Panax ginseng suppressed hyperglycemia induced by epinephrine and high carbohydrate diets. These findings suggest that Panax ginseng roots contain insulin-like substances. Previously, we demonstrated that gin¬seng roots contain an insulin-like peptide which inhibits epinephrine-induced lipolysis and stimulated insulin-mediated lipogenesis. In 1984, we suggested that such an insulin-like substance should be called a selective modulator4). Present investigation describes the details of the selective modulators in ginseng roots. During progressive weight loss in patients with various neoplastic disease, depletion of fat stores have been observed. The depletion of body fat during growth of neoplasms is associated with increase in plasma free fatty acids. Recently, we found that the ascites fluid from patients with hepatoma or ovarian tumor and the pleural fluid from patients with malignant lymphoma elicited fatty acid release in slices of rat adipose tissue in vitro. The lipolytic factor, named"toxohormone-L". was purifed from the ascites fluid of patients with hepatoma. The isolated preparation gave a single band on both disc gel electrophoresis and sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS)-acrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of ${\beta}$-mercaptoethanol. Its molecular weight was determined to be 70,000-75,000 and 65,000 by SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and analytical ultracentrifugation, respectively. Injection of toxohormone-L into the lateral ventricle of rats significantly suppressed food and water intakes. There was at least 5 hr delay between its injection and appearance of its suppressive effect. In the present study, we also tried to find a inhibitory substance toward toxohormone-L from root powder of ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.182-186
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• 1994

This study was conducted to define the effects of color of polyethylene (P.E.) net shading on the meteorological conditions under the shading growth status, photosynthesis and saponin contents of ginseng plant. Red and blue polyethylene net shading (4 fold) showed a good light intensity of ginseng growth, but red one not only increased air temperature but also resulted in early defoliation. Photosynthetic rate of ginseng leaves was increased in order of red, blue and black shade, Root yield and saponin contents were significantly increased red and blue net as compared with those of common straw shading. Blue color appeared to be most recommendable.