• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2020

Background: Panax ginseng Meyer (Araliaceae) is a highly valued medicinal plant in Asian regions, especially in Korea, China, and Japan. Chemical and biological studies on P. ginseng have focused primarily on its roots, whereas the seeds remain poorly understood. This study explores the phytochemical and biological properties of compounds from P. ginseng seeds. Methods: P. ginseng seeds were extracted with methanol, and 16 compounds were isolated using various chromatographic methods. The chemical structures of the isolates were determined by spectroscopic data. Antiinflammatory activities were evaluated for triterpene and steroidal saponins using lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and THP-1 monocyte leukemia cells. Results: Phytochemical investigation of P. ginseng seeds led to the isolation of a novel triterpene saponin, pseudoginsenoside RT₈, along with 15 known compounds. Pseudoginsenoside RT₈ exhibited more potent antiinflammatory activity than the other saponins, attenuating lipopolysaccharide-mediated induction of proinflammatory genes such as interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, and suppressed reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide generation in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: These findings indicate that pseudoginsenoside RT₈ has a pharmaceutical potential as an antiinflammatory agent and that P. ginseng seeds are a good natural source for discovering novel bioactive molecules.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.111-121
• /
• 2015

The root of Panax ginseng, is a Korea traditional medicine, which is used in both raw and processed forms due to their different pharmacological activities. As part of a continued chemical investigation of ginseng, the focus of this research is on the isolation and identification of compounds from Panax ginseng root by open column chromatography, medium pressure liquid chromatography, semi-preparative-high performance liquid chromatography, Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometric, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Dammarane-type triterpenoid saponins were isolated from Panax ginseng root by open column chromatography, medium pressure liquid chromatography, and semi-preparative-high performance liquid chromatography. Their structures were identified as protopanaxadiol ginsenosides [gypenoside-V (1), ginsenosides-Rb1 (2), -Rb2 (3), -Rb3 (4), -Rc (5), and -Rd (6)], protopanaxatriol ginsenosides [20(S)-notoginsenoside-R2 (7), notoginsenoside-Rt (8), 20(S)-O-glucoginsenoside-Rf (9), 6-O-[$\alpha$-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1$\rightarrow$2-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl]-20-O-$\beta$-D-glucopyranosyl-$3\beta$,$12\beta$, 20(S)-dihydroxy-dammar-25-en-24-one (10), majoroside-F6 (11), pseudoginsenoside-Rt3 (12), ginsenosides-Re (13), -Re5 (14), -Rf (15), -Rg1 (16), -Rg2 (17), and -Rh1 (18), and vinaginsenoside-R15 (19)], and oleanene ginsenosides [calenduloside-B (20) and ginsenoside-Ro (21)] through the interpretation of spectroscopic analysis. The configuration of the sugar linkages in each saponin was established on the basic of chemical and spectroscopic data. Among them, compounds 1, 8, 10, 11, 12, 19, and 20 were isolated for the first time from P. ginseng root.