• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.159-166
• /
• 2005

Ginsenosides, a group of Panax ginseng saponins, exert the lowering effects of plasma cholesterol levels in animals. We had reported earlier that ginsenoside Rb2 upregulate low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) expression via a mechanism that is dependent of the activation of sterol response element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2) expression. This study was conducted to determine the effects of ginsenoside Rb2 on the expression of the hepatic LDLR expression at cellular levels using HepG2 cells, and to evaluate whether the sterol response element binding protein 1 (SREBP-l) was involved in the regulation of LDLR expression. Incubation of HepG2 cells in serum-free medium supplemented with cholesterol $(10{\mu}g/ml)$ for 8 hours decreased the mRNAs of LDLR mRNA by $12\%$ and SREBP-l mRNA by $35\%$. Ginsenoside Rb2 antagonized the repressive effects of cholesterol and increased both LDLR and SREBP-l mRNA expression to 1.5- and 2-fold, respectively. Furthermore, Western blot and confocal microscopic analyses with SREBP-l polyclonal antibody revealed that ginsenoside Rb2 enhanced the maturation of the SREBP-1 from the inactive precursor form in ER membrane to the active transcription factor form in nucleus. These results suggest that ginsenoside Rb2 upregulates LDLR expression via a mechanism that is dependent of the activation of not only SREBP-2 expression, but also SREBP-1 expression and maturation, and also indicate that the pharmacological value of ginsenoside Rb2 may be distinguished from that of lovastatin which is reported that it upregulate LDLR through SREBP-2 only, not through SREBP-1.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.304-313
• /
• 2015

Background: Ginsenoside Rg3 is a promising anticancer agent. It is usually produced by heat treatment of ginseng, in which ginsenoside Rb1 is the major ginsenoside. A kinetic study was conducted to optimize ginsenoside Rg3 production by the heat treatment of ginsenoside Rb1. Methods: Ginsenoside Rb1 was heated using an isothermal machine at $80^{\circ}C$ and $100^{\circ}C$ and analyzed using HPLC. The kinetic parameters were calculated from the experimental results. The activation energy was estimated and used to simulate the process. The optimized parameters of ginsenoside Rg3 production are suggested based on the simulation. Results: The rate constants were $0.013h^{-1}$ and $0.073h^{-1}$ for the degradation of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 at $80^{\circ}C$, respectively. The corresponding rate constants at $100^{\circ}C$ were $0.045h^{-1}$ and $0.155h^{-1}$. The estimated activation energies of degradation of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 were 69.2 kJ/mol and 40.9 kJ/mol, respectively. The rate constants at different temperatures were evaluated using the estimated activation energies, and the kinetic profiles of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg3 at each temperature were simulated based on the proposed kinetic model of consecutive reaction. The optimum strategies for producing ginsenoside Rg3 from ginsenoside Rb1 are suggested based on the simulation. With increased temperature, a high concentration of ginsenoside Rg3 is formed rapidly. However, the concentration decreases quickly after the reaching the maximal concentration value. Conclusion: The optimum temperature for producing ginsenoside Rg3 should be the highest temperature technically feasible below $180^{\circ}C$, in consideration of the cooling time. The optimum reaction time for heat treatment is 30 min.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.36-42
• /
• 2017

Background: Some differences have been reported in the biotransformation of ginsenosides, probably due to the types of materials used such as ginseng, enzymes, and microorganisms. Moreover, most microorganisms used for transforming ginsenosides do not meet food-grade standards. We investigated the statistical conversion rate of major ginsenosides in ginsenosides model culture during fermentation by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to estimate possible pathways. Methods: Ginsenosides standard mix was used as a model culture to facilitate clear identification of the metabolic changes. Changes in eight ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg1, and Rg2) during fermentation with six strains of LAB were investigated. Results: In most cases, the residual ginsenoside level decreased by 5.9-36.8% compared with the initial ginsenoside level. Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Re continuously decreased during fermentation. By contrast, Rd was maintained or slightly increased after 1 d of fermentation. Rg1 and Rg2 reached their lowest values after 1-2 d of fermentation, and then began to increase gradually. The conversion of Rd, Rg1, and Rg2 into smaller deglycosylated forms was more rapid than that of Rd from Rb1, Rb2, and Rc, as well as that of Rg1 and Rg2 from Re during the first 2 d of fermentation with LAB. Conclusion: Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Re continuously decreased, whereas ginsenosides Rd, Rg1, and Rg2 increased after 1-2 d of fermentation. This study may provide new insights into the metabolism of ginsenosides and can clarify the metabolic changes in ginsenosides biotransformed by LAB.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.229-237
• /
• 2020

Background: We investigated the tolerability and pharmacokinetic properties of various ginsenosides, including Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, and compound K, after single or multiple administrations of red ginseng extract in human beings. Methods: Red ginseng extract (dried ginseng > 60%) was administered once and repeatedly for 15 days to 15 healthy Korean people. After single and repeated administration of red ginsengextract, blood sample collection, measurement of blood pressure and body temperature, and routine laboratory test were conducted over 48-h test periods. Results: Repeated administration of high-dose red ginseng for 15 days was well tolerated and did not produce significant changes in body temperature or blood pressure. The plasma concentrations of Rb1, Rb2, and Rc were stable and showed similar area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) values after 15 days of repeated administration. Their AUC values after repeated administration of red ginseng extract for 15 days accumulated 4.5- to 6.7-fold compared with single-dose AUC. However, the plasma concentrations of Rd and compound K showed large interindividual variations but correlated well between AUC of Rd and compound K. Compound K did not accumulate after 15 days of repeated administration of red ginseng extract. Conclusion: A good correlation between the AUC values of Rd and compound K might be the result of intestinal biotransformation of Rb1, Rb2, and Rc to Rd and subsequently to compound K, rather than the intestinal permeability of these ginsenosides. A strategy to increase biotransformation or reduce metabolic intersubject variability may increase the plasma concentrations of Rd and compound K.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.199-205
• /
• 1980

Relatively large quantity of the major components of saponin, $ginsenoside-Rb_1,\;-Rb_2,\;-Rc,\;-Rd,\;-Re\;and\;-Rg_1$ from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer were isolated using preparative and semipreparative high performance liquid chromatography, and analyzed by analytical HPLC. The application of HPLC for isolation of ginsenosides was not only very effective for rapid analysis but also reduced the isolation time. The isolation capacity of pure ginsenosides was $30{\sim}50mg/hr$.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.222-227
• /
• 1980

Ginsenosides in two parts (central fart and epidermis-cortex) of main body of Korea ginseng root (purple stem variety) were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography in relation to purple color intensity on stem. Pattern similarity of saponin by simple correlation of ginsenosides between the same or different parts of root in the same or different group showed that stem color was not associated with saponin pattern in two parts. Saponin pattern was slightly different between different parts regardless of stem color. The order of each ginsenoside content was $Rg_1>Re>Rb_1>Rb_2>Rc>Rg_2{\geq}Rd>Rf$ in epidermis-cortex while $Rg_1>Re{\geq}Rg_2{\geq}Rb_1{\gg}Rb_2>Rc{\geq}Rd>Rf$ in central part.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.452-458
• /
• 2014

In Wireless Sensor Networks the Medium access control (MAC) protocol has many challenges to solve such as reducing energy consumption, supporting QoS(quality of service) fairness, and reducing delivery delay. This paper proposed a low-delay supporting MAC protocol in multi-hop Wireless Sensor Networks. The proposed protocol uses the RB(rapid beacon) frame for reducing delivery delay. The RB frame is a modified IEEE 802.15.4 beacon frame. For sender adaptive-wakeup, the RB frame includes a seed number for determining of a receiver wakeup time. And for next hop receiver adaptive-wakeup, the RB frame includes the length of remaining data packet information. Results showed that our LD-MAC protocol outperformed other protocol in terms of data packet delivery delay.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.65-71
• /
• 1971

A simplified method for the local blood flow determination by means of $^{86}Rb$ was developed in rats and rabbits. $^{86}Rb$ in the form of chloride mixed with physiological saline was intravenously injected. The doses were $10{\mu}Ci$ for rats and $100{\mu}Ci$ for rabbits, which were injected in less than 5 seconds. The rats were sacrificed after 30 seconds, and the rabbits at the intervals of 10, 20, 40 and 60 seconds, by decapitation or rapid intravenous injection of 3 to 5ml of saturated KCI. After bleeding, the organ and tissue samples, e.g. lungs, renal cortex, jejunum and skeletal muscle were quickly removed. The $^{86}Rb$ uptake in 1 gram of the organs and tissues were measured. On the basis of uptake value, administered dose and body weight, the local blood flow was calculated. Following were the results: 1. The uptake values of $^{86}Rb$ in the above organs and tissues of rats were different from other previous reports, in which the large rats were used. It appears, therefore, that the correction on the basis of body weight is necessary. 2. The uptakes of $^{86}Rb$ in the above organs and tissues of rabbits remained rather stationary within 20 to 40 seconds. 3. The local blood flow in the above organs and tissues were calculated from $^{86}Rb$ uptake in per cent dose per 1 gram tissue for 200 gram body weight. The formula could be applied not only to the rabbits but to the rats. 4. The present method could be applied to the comparison of the local blood flow between the various organs and tissues of the control and experimental animals.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.449-458
• /
• 2019

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is one of the most common eye malignancies occur in childhood. The crucial roles of non-coding RNAs, particularly long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs), have been widely reported in Rb progression. In the present study, we found the expression of lncRNA T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 6 (TCL6) was significantly downregulated in Rb tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of lncRNA TCL6 promoted cell proliferation while reduced cell apoptosis in Rb cells. Moreover, lncRNA TCL6 serves as a sponge for miR-21, a previously-reported oncogenic miRNA in Rb, by direct targeting to negatively regulated miR-21 expression, therefore modulating Rb proliferation through miR-21. TCL6 overexpression inhibited Rb cell proliferation while miR-21 overexpression exerted an opposing effect; the effect of TCL6 overexpression was partially attenuated by miR-21 overexpression. PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was involved in lncRNA TCL6/miR-21 axis modulating Rb cell proliferation. Taken together, lncRNA TCL6 serves as a tumor suppressor by acting as a sponge for miR-21 to counteract miR-21-mediated PTEN repression.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.29 no.7
• /
• pp.566-569
• /
• 2006

This study examined whether or not acute stress is linked to increases in the neurosteroid levels, which is a well-known neurotransmitters associated with stress stimuli. The ginsenoside, Rb1, was tested in order to better understand its potential effects on altering the neurosteroid levels and ultimately attenuating stress. The optimal stressed condition was checked by measuring the 5a-dihydroprogesterone (DHP) and allopregnanolone (THP) levels in the brain after immobilization stress at various times. Based on this result, an acute stress model was set up to give 30 min of immobilization stress. The DHP and THP brain levels of the stressed mice were then investigated after administering Rb1 orally (10 mg/kg). These results were compared with the neurosteroid level in the stressed mice not given Rb1. Saline was administered orally to the nonstressed mice to check the placebo effect. Acute immobilization stress induced an increase in the THP and DHP concentration in the frontal cortex and cerebellum. When Rb1 was administered orally prior to immobilization stress, the THP level in the frontal cortex and cerebellum was significantly lower than that in the stressed animals not given Rb1. On the other hand, the DHP level was lower in the cerebellum only. This suggests that the metabolism of the brain neurosteroids is linked to psychological stress, and Rb1 attenuates the stressinduced increase in neurosteroids.