• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.454-463
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• 2024

Background: Panax quinquefolius L, widely recognized for its valuable contributions to medicine, has aroused considerable attention globally. Different from the extensive research has been dedicated to the root of P. quinquefolius, its berry has received relatively scant focus. Given its promising medicinal properties, this study was focused on the structural characterizations and anti-inflammatory potential of acidic polysaccharides from the P. quinquefolius berry. Materials and methods: P. quinquefolius berry was extracted with hot water, precipitated by alcohol, separated by DEAE-52-cellulose column to give a series of fractions. One of these fractions was further purified via Sephadex G-200 column to give three fractions. Then, the main fraction named as AGBP-A3 was characterized by methylation analysis, NMR spectroscopy, etc. Its anti-inflammatory activity was assessed by RAW 264.7 cell model, zebrafish model and molecular docking. Results: The main chain comprised of α-L-Rhap, α-D-GalAp and β-D-Galp, while the branch consisted mainly of α-L-Araf, β-D-Glcp, α-D-GalAp, β-D-Galp. The RAW264.7 cell assay results showed that the inhibition rates against IL-6 and IL-1β secretion at the concentration of 625 ng/mL were 24.83 %, 11.84 %, while the inhibition rate against IL-10 secretion was 70.17 % at the concentration of 312 ng/mL. In the zebrafish assay, the migrating neutrophils were significantly reduced in number, and their migration to inflammatory tissues was inhibited. Molecular docking predictions correlated well with the results of the anti-inflammatory assay. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated the structure of acidic polysaccharides of P. quinquefolius berry and their effect on inflammation, providing a reference for screening anti-inflammatory drugs.

• 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.