• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.274-283
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• 1998

It has generally been accepted that quality of ginseng should be determined not by the content of a single component but by composition and balance of total active principles. However, there still can be an exception with a product in which a given ginsenoside is used for the treatment of a specific disease. Although ginsenosides have been regarded to be major active components of ginseng and employed as index components for the quality control, it does not consistent with the traditional concept on ginseng quality creterion; main root has been more highly appreciated than the lateral or fine root. Content of ginsenosides in the lateral or fine root is much higher than that in main root. However, the ratio of protopanaxadiol (PD) and protopanaxatriol (PT) saponins existing in various part of ginseng root is greatly different. The ratio of PD/PT saponins in main root is well balanced but the thinner the root is the higher the ratio. Thus far, a total of 34 different kinds of ginsenosides have been isolated from Korean (red) ginseng, and their pharmacological activities were elucidated partly. Interestingly, different ginsenoside shows similar or contrary effects to each other in biological systems, thus indicating the significance of absolute content of single ginsenoside as well as compositional patterns of each ginsenoside. Therefore, pharmacological activities of ginseng should be determined as a wholly concept. In these regards, standardization of ginseng material (fresh ginseng root) should be preceded to the standardization of ginseng products because ginsenoside content and non-saponin active principles such as polysaccharides and nitrogen (N)-containing compound including proteins are significantly different from part to part of the root. In other words, the main root contains less ginsenosides than other lateral or fine roots. Contents of polysaccharides and N-containing compound in main root is higher. However, the quality control of ginseng products focused on non-saponin compounds has limitation in applying to the analytical method, because of the difficult chemical analysis of these compounds. Content of ginsenosides, and ratios of PD/PT and ginsenoside Rb,/Rg, are inversely proportional to the diameter of ginseng root. Therefore, these can be served as the chemical parameters for the indirect method of evaluating from what part of the root does the material originate. Furthermore, contents of polysaccharides and N-containing compounds show inverse relationship to saponin content. Therefore, it seems that index for analytical chemistry of saponin can be applied to the indirect method of evaluating not only saponin but also non-saponin compounds of ginseng. From these viewpoints, it is strongly recommended that quality of ginseng or ginseng products be judged not only by the absolute content of given ginsenoside but also by varieties and compositional balance of ginsenosides, including contents of non-saponin active principles.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 1996

The effect of ginseng glycosides and their aglycones on the thermodynamic characteristics of membranes from dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) was investigated. Total saponins (TS) from Korean red ginseng, Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, interacted with the Eel Phase of lipid in the Polar region and did not penetrate the deeper glycerol backbone of lipid molecule. From the all investigated components of TS (aglycons and ginsenosides), only 20-(S)-panaxadiol (PD) had an effect similar to TS. High concentration of TS penetrated in hydrophobic Cl-C8 region. The presence of cholesterol did not influence the interaction of TS with DPPC. An elimination of transition, however, took place at 10~100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of TS. DPPC had a low ability to interact with cholesterol (CHL) as compared with other lecithins except ethanolamine. From our results, only TS and PD, at high concentrations (100 mol%), influenced the phase transition of mixture of DPPC:CHL.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.24 no.3_4
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• pp.143-150
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• 1980

The effect of ginseng saponin on chick embryonic dorsal root ganglia organ culture and brain, spinal cord, muscle dissociation cultures was studied. The fiber outgrowth in explanted chick embryonic dorsal root ganglia was markedly induced by water and alcohol extracts of ginseng, total ginseng saponin, protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol glycosides as well as ginsenosides R/sub b1/, R/sub d/, R/sub 0/+R/sub a/+R/sub b1/, and R/sub b2/+R/sub c/+R/sub e/ mixtures. The life span of the cultured chick embryonic dorsal root ganglia and potentiation of nerve cell density were also observed with all of these ginseng saponins. The effect of ginseng saponin on chick embryonic dorsal root ganglia organ culture was more marked in the absence of the chick embryonic extract which was known to contain nerve growth factor-like material in the culture media. However, the ginseng saponin did not influence the cultured central nervous system such as brain and spinal cord cells and cultured skeletal muscle cells with respect to the morphological changes, maturation and life span of these cells.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.370.2-370.2
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• 2002

This study was carried out to obtain basic informations that can be used in index for Korea ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) cultivated in East Asia (Geumsan. Ganghwa. Punggi. Umsong, Jinan, Hongchon. Jilin. Nagano). Ginsenosides composition in various Panax ginseng roots cultivated in different places and years were carried by the Shibata method. The average about total saponins and each ginsenosides content of four year-age Ginseng Radix aquosa cultivated in Korea were higher than those of ginseng cultivated for its longer period. (omitted)

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 1985

In order to investigate the biological activity of ginseng saponins, the effects of ginseng saponins on the reaction catalyzed by bacterial a-amylase were studied and the results obtained were summerized as follows. Bacterial ${\alpha}$-amylase activity was increased by the addition of protopanaxadiol (diol), protopanaxatriol (triol) and total saponin. Preincubation of ${\alpha}$-amylase with diol saponin at $40^{\circ}C$ for 3 min increased ${\alpha}$-amylase activity to the degree of 120%. In the protective effect on the heat denaturation of the enzyme, triol saponin protected the heat denaturation for 5 min at $60^{\circ}C$, but diol saponin accelerated the heat denaturation. The hydrolyzates of diol and triol saponin increased the enzyme activity more than the intact diol and triol saponin. In the catalysis system of bacterial ${\alpha}$-amylase, the addition of diol and triol saponin reduced the substrate inhibition in the presence of high concentration of the substrate.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.524-530
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• 2004

Epilepsy or the occurrence of spontaneous recurrent epileptiform discharges (SREDs, seizures) is one of the most common neurological disorders. Shift in the balance of brain between excitatory and inhibitory functions due to different types of structural or functional alterations may cause epileptiform discharges. N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor dysfunctions have been implicated in modulating seizure activities. Seizures and epilepsy are clearly dependent on elevated intracellular calcium concentration ([C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ ) by NMDA receptor activation and can be prevented by NMDA antagonists. This perturbed [C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ levels is forerunner of neuronal death. However, therapeutic tools of elevated [C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ level during status epilepticus (SE) and SREDs have not been discovered yet. Our previous study showed fast inhibition of ginseng total saponins and ginsenoside R $g_3$ on NMDA receptor-mediated [C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ in cultured hippocampal neurons. We, therefore, examined the direct modulation of ginseng on hippocampal neuronal culture model of epilepsy using fura-2-based digital $Ca^{2+}$ imaging and neuronal viability assays. We found that ginseng total saponins and ginsenoside R $g_3$ inhibited $Mg^{2+}$ free-induced increase of [C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ and spontaneous [C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ oscillations in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. These results suggest that ginseng may playa neuroprotective role in perturbed homeostasis of [C $a^{2+}$]$_{i}$ and neuronal cell death via the inhibition of NMDA receptor-induced SE or SREDs.d SE or SREDs..

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.266-267
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• 2011

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.401-415
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• 2002

Lim and his coworkers (1987; 1988; 1989) have also found that all of total Ginseng saponin, panaxadiol-and panaxatriol-type saponins cause the increased secretion of catecholamines (CA) in a $Ca^{2+}$ -dependent fashion from the isolated perfused rabbit adrenal glands through the activation of cholinergic (both nicotinic and muscarinic) receptors. These CA secretory effects are partly due to the direct action on the rabbit adrenomedullary chromaffin cells. However, the present study was designed to examine the effect of total ginseng saponin on CA secretion evoked by activation of cholinergic nicotinic receptors in the isolated perfused model of the rat adrenal gland. Total ginseng saponin given (100 ${\mu}g$/20 min) into an adrenal vein did fail to produce alteration of spontaneous CA release from the rat adrenal medulla. Acetylcholine(5.32 mM)- and DMPP(100 ${\mu}M$, a selective nicotinic receptor agonist)-evoked CA secretory responses were reduced markedly after the pretreatment with the total ginseng saponin at a rate of 100 ${\mu}g$/6.2 ml/20 min, respectively. Pretreatment with total ginseng saponin also depressed greatly high potassium (56 mM, a membrane depolarizing agent)- and Bay-K-8644 (10 ${\mu}M$, a calcium channel activator)-induced CA secretions. Taken together, it is thought that total ginseng saponin can inhibit the releasing effect of CA evoked by nicotinic receptor stimulation from the isolated perfused rat adrenal medulla, which seems to be associated to the direct inhibition of influx through L-type calcium channel into the rat adrenomedullary chromaffin cells. It seems that there is species differences in the adrenomedullary catecholamine secretion between the rabbit and rat.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.210-216
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• 2007

The backbone structure of ginsenosides, active ingredients of Panax ginseng, is similar with that of sterol, especially cholesterol. Caenorhabditis elegans (c. elegans) is one of free living nematodes and is well-established animal model for biochemical and genetic studies. C. elegans cannot synthesize de novo cholesterol, although cholesterol is essential requirement for its growth and development. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Korean red ginseng total extract (KRGE), ginseng total saponins (GTS) on life span of C. elegans in cholesterol-deprived and -fed medium. Cholesterol deprivation caused damages on life span of worms throughout F1 to F3 generations. KRGE or GTS supplement to cholesterol-deprived medium restored the life span of worms as much as cholesterol alone-fed medium. In study to identify which ginsenosides are responsible for life span restoring effects of KRGE, we found that ginsenoside Rc supplement not only restored life span of worms grown in cholesterol-deprived medium but also prolonged life span of worms grown in cholesterol-fed medium. These results show a possibility that ginsenosides could be utilized by C. elegans as a sterol substitute and further indicate that ginsenoside Rc is the effective component of Korean red ginseng that prolongs the life span of C. elegans.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.137-144
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• 1982

It was previously reported from our laboratory that the rate of deterioration of the force of contraction was slower in heart from Panax ginseng extract treated rats. The study carried out to elucidate its mechanism of the action on hearts. The cyclic AMP content in the rat hearts was measured by the method of radioimmunoassay techniques. Panax ginseng extract (100mg/kg/day) was administered orally to male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 150g to 250g for 1 week and after 24 hrs the hearts were isolated and the cyclic AMP content in the fresh heart was assayed. The difference in cyclic AMP content between the rats treated with Panax ginseng extracts and normal rats was not significant. Panax ginseng extract(l00mg/kg/day) was administered orally to the rats for I week and after 24 hrs the hearts were isolated and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (pH7.4) for 90min. The cyclic AMP content in the both treated and normal rats was not also significantly different. On the other hand, when total ginseng saponin (50mg/kg/day) was administered orally to rats for 1 week and after 24 hrs, the isolated hearts were perfused with Krebs Henseleit solution for 32min, the cyclic AMP content in total ginseng soponin treated hearts was decreased by 18.7% compared to normal rats. It was also observed that when isolated hearts were perfused with total ginseng saponin $(10^{-4}g/ml)$ for 12 min after 30 min equilibration period, the cyclic AMP content in total ginseng saponin treated hearts was decreased by 23.7% compared to normal rats. Isolated hearts were perfused with ginseng saponins $(10^{-4}g/ml)$ or with Krebs-Henseleit solution alone for 10min and subsequently with dl-isoproterenol $(1/2{\times}10^{-6}M)$ until the positive inotropic effect of isoproterenol was initiated. The cyclic AMP content in each rat hearts treated with total ginseng saponin, or with ginsenoside $Rb_1$, or with Krebs-Henseleit solution alone were increased by 35.5%, 42.4%, 47.5%, respectively, compared to normal rats.