• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.180-186
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• 2014

Background: This study evaluated changes in ginsenoside compositions and antioxidant activities in hydroponic-cultured ginseng roots (HGR) and leaves (HGL) with heating temperature. Methods: Heat treatment was performed at temperatures of $90^{\circ}C$, $110^{\circ}C$, $130^{\circ}C$, and $150^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours Results: The ginsenoside content varied significantly with heating temperature. The levels of ginsenosides Rg1 and Re in HGR decreased with increasing heating temperature. Ginsenosides F2, F4, Rk3, Rh4, Rg3 (S form), Rg3 (R form), Rk1, and Rg5, which were absent in the raw ginseng, were formed after heat treatment. The levels of ginsenosides Rg1, Re, Rf, and Rb1 in HGL decreased with increasing heating temperature. Conversely, ginsenosides Rk3, Rh4, Rg3 (R form), Rk1, and Rg5 increased with increasing heating temperature. In addition, ginsenoside contents of heated HGL were slightly higher than those of HGR. The highest extraction yield was 14.39% at $130^{\circ}C$, whereas the lowest value was 10.30% at $150^{\circ}C$ After heating, polyphenol contents of HGR and HGL increased from 0.43 mg gallic acid equivalent/g (mg GAE eq/g) and 0.74 mg GAE eq/g to 6.16 mg GAE eq/g and 2.86 mg GAE eq/g, respectively. Conclusion: Antioxidant activities of HGR and HGL, measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical scavenging ability, increased with increasing heating temperature. These results may aid in improving the biological activity and quality of ginseng subjected to heat treatments.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 2022

Background: Maternal Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection during pregnancy has been associated with various mental illnesses in the offspring. Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is a major bioactive compound obtained from ginseng that has an anti-T. gondii effect and attenuates microglial activation through toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. GRh2 also alleviated tumor-associated or lipopolysaccharide-induced depression. However, the effects and potential mechanisms of GRh2 on depression-like behavior in mouse offspring caused by maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy have not been investigated. Methods: We examined GRh2 effects on the depression-like behavior in mouse offspring, caused by maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy, by measuring depression-like behaviors and assaying parameters at the neuronal and molecular level. Results: We showed that GRh2 significantly improved behavioral measures: sucrose consumption, forced swim time and tail suspended immobility time of their offspring. These corresponded with increased tissue concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine, and attenuated indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase or enhanced tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the prefrontal cortex. GRh2 ameliorated neuronal damage in the prefrontal cortex. Molecular docking results revealed that GRh2 binds strongly to both TLR4 and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that GRh2 ameliorated the depression-like behavior in mouse offspring of maternal T. gondii infection during pregnancy by attenuating the excessive activation of microglia and neuroinflammation through the HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. It suggests that GRh2 could be considered a potential therapy in preventing and treating psychiatric disorders in the offspring mice of mothers with prenatal exposure to T. gondii infection.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.425-429
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• 2012

In this study, hydroponically-cultivated ginseng leaves, fruits, and roots were respectively extracted with ethanol. The contents of 12 ginsenosides and three phenolics in the extracts were quantitatively analyzed and the free radical scavenging activities were measured and compared. Hydroponically-cultivated ginseng leaves contained higher levels of gensenosides (Rg1, Rg2+Rh1, Rd, and Rg3) and p-coumaric acid than the other parts of the ginseng plants. The 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid radical scavenging activities of leaves were also the highest. Accordingly, hydroponically-grown ginseng leaves were shown to hold promise for use as an environmentally-friendly natural anti-oxidant.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.219-226
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• 2013

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of extrusion conditions (moisture content 20% and 30%, screw speed 200 and 250 rpm, barrel temperature $115^{\circ}C$ and $130^{\circ}C$) on the acidic polysaccharide, ginsenoside contents and antioxidant properties of extruded Korean red ginseng (KRG). Extruded KRGs showed relatively higher amounts of acidic polysaccharide (6.80% to 9.34%) than non-extruded KRG (4.34%). Increased barrel temperature and screw speed significantly increased the content of acidic polysaccharide. The major ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg2s, Rg3s, Rh1, and Rg3r) of KRG increased through extrusion, while the ginsenoside (Rg1) decreased. The EX8 (moisture 30%, screw speed 250 rpm, and temperature $130^{\circ}C$) had more total phenolics and had a better scavenging effect on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals than those of extruded KRG samples. The extrusion cooking showed a significant increase (6.8% to 20.9%) in reducing power. Increased barrel temperature significantly increased the values of reducing power, the highest value was 1.152 obtained from EX4 (feed moisture 20%, screw speed 250 rpm, and temperature $130^{\circ}C$). These results suggest that extrusion conditions can be optimized to retain the health promoting compounds in KRG products.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.343-348
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• 2009

This study was conducted to produce a new red ginseng by steaming ginseng using a new pre-treatment method, so as to develop ginseng products with improved flavor and thereby expand ginseng's consumer base. The color parameters (Hunter value), free sugar contents, and ginsenoside contents of the powder from the dried red ginseng, and the sensory test of the semi-dried red ginseng and the decoction from the dried red ginseng, were measured to investigate the effect of acid (ascorbic acid or citric acid) impregnation pre-treatment on red ginseng. The powder from the acid-pretreated red ginseng became lighter and more yellow than the red ginseng that was not pre-treated, but the redness (avalue) of the powder from the acid-pre-treated red ginseng increased. The ginsenoside contents of $Rg_2+Rh_1$ and $Rg_3$ increased with the acid treatment. There was a significant difference in the color and sweetness of the semi-dried acidtreated and non-treated red ginsengs in the sensory test. As the results of the sensory test were expressed in the hedonic scale, however, there were significant differences in the degrees of bitterness, astringency, sourness, odor, and color of the red ginseng decollation. Especially, the acid-treated red ginseng extract tasted less bitter, which shows the potential of new red ginseng products with improved ginseng flavor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1109-1114
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• 2008

To understand the role of intestinal microflora in the biological effect of functional herbs, which have been used in Korea, Japan, and China as traditional medicines, and suggest new bioactive compounds transformed from herbal constituents, the metabolic activities of the functional herb components (ginsenoside Rb1, crocin, amygdalin, geniposide, puerarin, ginsenoside Re, poncirin, hesperidin, glycyrrhizin, and baicalin) toward their bioactive compounds (compound K, crocetin, benzaldehyde, genipin, daidzein, ginsenoside Rh1, ponciretin, hesperetin, 18b-glycyrrhetic acid, and baicalein) were measured in fecal specimens. The metabolic activities of these components were $882.7{\pm}814.5$, $3,938.1{\pm}2,700.8$, $2,375.5{\pm}913.7$, $1,179.4{\pm}795.7$, $24.6{\pm}10.5$, $11.4{\pm}10.8$, $578.8{\pm}206.1$, $1,150.0{\pm}266.1$, $47.3{\pm}58.6$, and $12,253.0{\pm}6,527.6\;{\mu}mol/h/g$, respectively. No differences were found in the metabolic activities of the tested components between males and females, although these metabolic activities between individuals are extensively different. The metabolites of functional herb components showed more potent cytotoxicity against tumor cells than nonmetabolites. These findings suggest that intestinal microflora may activate the pharmacological effect of herbal food and medicines and must be the biocatalytic converter for the transformation of herbal components to bioactive compounds.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.528-534
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• 2011

This study was conducted to investigate the changes in saponin content and antioxidant activity of crude ginseng and extruded ginseng by using different solvent extraction methods. Each of the fractions was first extracted by 80% ethanol followed by ether treatment to remove the lipid components. Water soluble components were separated by ethylacetate and water saturated butanol. Four fraction, including 80% ethanol, ethylacetate, butanol and water were obtained from crude and extruded ginsengs to analyze saponin content and antioxidant activity. Saponin content and antioxidant capacity of each of the four fractions were measured by LC/MS analysis and ORAC(Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) assay, respectively. It was found that a major portion of saponin was present in ethyl acetate and water saturated butanol fractions. When extracted by 80% ethanol, ginsenoside Rb1 and Rg1 were mostly found in crude ginseng, while ginsenoside Re and Rb1 were detected in extruded ginseng. Even though Rh1 and Rg3 were found in a very small quantity in crude ginseng, there was a significant quantity of both in extruded ginseng when extracted by 80% ethanol. Similar tendency was also observed in extruded ginseng fraction when extracted with ethyl acetate and butanol. In crude ginseng, the level of Rg1 was the highest among other ginsenosides upon extraction by ethyl acetate, while Rh1 and Rg3 were predominantly found by employing similar solvent extraction in the extruded ginseng. Also, Rg1, Re and Rb1 were also found in the extruded ginseng with small quantity. Rg1, Re and Rb1 were found in crude ginseng by butanol extraction, while Rb1 and Re were extracted from the extruded ginseng. Overall, there was no difference in the saponin content between crude ginseng and extruded ginseng when extracted by butanol and water, but twice as much of saponin was obtained by 80% ethanol extraction and 6 times more saponin were obtained in ethyl acetate fraction in the extruded ginseng. Antioxidant capacity of crude ginseng as determined by ORAC assay was higher in 80% ethanol(high in many different kinds of biological compounds) and water saturated butanol(high in polar saponin) fractions than the ethyl acetate and water fractions. No difference in antioxidant capacity was observed between crude and extruded ginseng. However, antioxidant capacity of ethyl acetate and water fractions in extruded ginseng was significantly higher than crude ginseng($P$ >0.05). All the fractions in both, crude and extruded ginseng possessed antioxidant capacity and even water fractions that contained almost no saponin had some antioxidant capacity. While determining correlation coefficient between fractions in extruded ginseng by Pearson correlation, it was observed that 80% ethanol fraction was in correlation with ethyl acetate($P$ >0.01) and ethanol($P$ >0.001) and in the case of ethylacetate, correlation was observed only with butanol fraction($P$ >0.05).

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.106-110
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• 2016

Ginseng, a traditional herbal drug, has been used in Eastern Asia for more than 2000 years. Various ginsenosides, which are the major bioactive components of ginseng products, have been shown to exert numerous beneficial effects on the human body when co-administered with drugs. However, this may give rise to ginsenoside-drug interactions, which is an important research consideration. In this study, acassette assay was performed the inhibitory effects of 12 ginsenosides on seven cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms in human liver microsomes (HLMs) using LC-MS/MS to predict the herb-drug interaction. After incubation of the 12 ginsenosides with seven cocktail CYP probes, the generated specific metabolites were quantified by LC-MS/MS to determine their activities. Ginsenoside Rb1 and F2 showed strong selective inhibitory effect on CYP2C9-catalyzed diclofenac 4'-hydroxylation and CYP2B6-catalyzed bupropion hydroxylation, respectively. Ginsenosides Rd showed weak inhibitory effect on the activities of CYP2B6, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 3A4, and compound K, while ginsenoside Rg3 showed weak inhibitory effects on CYP2B6. Other ginsenosides, Rc, Rf, Rg1, Rh1, Rf, and Re did not show significant inhibitory effects on the activities of the seven CYPs in HLM. Owing to the poor absorption of ginsenosides after oral administration in vivo, ginsenosides may not have significant side effects caused by interaction with other drugs.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.414-421
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• 2022

In this study, we isolated Weizmannia ginsengihumi LGHNH (KCTC 14462BP) from 30-year-old wild Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer and elucidated the characteristics of the isolated bacterium and its industrial potential as an anti-aging material. W. ginsengihumi LGHNH was investigated to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a plant growth-promoting hormone (1.38 ㎍/ml to 2.22 ㎍/ml). We also confirmed the existence of bioconversion activity via the comparison of the ginsenoside content before and after fermentation. As for the converted minor ginsenoside, Rg2(R), Rg4, Rg6, Rg3(S), Rg3(R), Rk1, Rg5, Rh1(R), Rk3 and Rh4 are known to have high bioavailability and various skin effects. We measured mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP biosynthesis to elucidate W. ginsengihumi LGHNH cultured product (WCP) as an anti-aging material. As a result, the mitochondrial membrane potential in HaCaT cells with UVB decreased to 39.3% compared to the unirradiated group, but was recovered to 57.3% and 58.1% by 0.001% (v/v) and 0.01% (v/v) WCP, respectively. In addition, we measured mitochondrial ATP biosynthesis. It decreased to 94.3% compared to the unirradiated group with UVB, but was recovered to 105.3% and 105.7% by 0.001% (v/v) and 0.01% (v/v) WCP.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.435-443
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• 2017

Panax ginseng is one of the most universally used herbal medicines in Asian and Western countries. Most of the biological activities of ginseng are derived from its main constituents, ginsenosides. Interestingly, a number of studies have reported that ginsenosides and their metabolites/derivatives-including ginsenoside (G)-Rb1, compound K, G-Rb2, G-Rd, G-Re, G-Rg1, G-Rg3, G-Rg5, G-Rh1, G-Rh2, and G-Rp1-exert anti-inflammatory activities in inflammatory responses by suppressing the production of proinflammatory cytokines and regulating the activities of inflammatory signaling pathways, such as nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$ and activator protein-1. This review discusses recent studies regarding molecular mechanisms by which ginsenosides play critical roles in inflammatory responses and diseases, and provides evidence showing their potential to prevent and treat inflammatory diseases.