A CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF EXTRACT OF PANAX GINSENG ROOT AGAINST SOME CANCER CELLS IN VITRO AND IN VIVO

This study was devised to observe the cytotoxic activity of extracts of Panax ginseng root against some cancer cells and to purify the crude extract. Three kinds of cancer cells(leukemic cells L5178Y, HeLa cells and Sarcoma 180 cells) and mouse embryo cells (as normal cells) were used for this study. The ginseng roots were extracted with petroleum ether in soxhlet apparatus, and the crude extracts were purified by the silicic acid column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography methods. The results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. Eight to ten mg of the petroleum ether extract (crude extract) were obtained from 1 g of Panax ginseng root, and its activities per mg were about 1,000 units. 2. Doubling time of the L5178Y cells was increased to two fold by 24 hours incubation in culture medium containing about one ${\mu}g$ of extract per ml, and eight and ten folds higher concentration of ginseng extract were required for the Sarcoma 180 cells and HeLa cells, respectively, than for the leukemic cells(L5178Y) to inhibit the cellular growth to the same degree. 3. When the L5178Y cells were exposed to medium containing various concentration of the extract for 24 hours before initiation of the soft agar cloning procedure, about $99\%$ of the L5178Y cells were killed at concentration of 8 units per ml. 4. The growth rate of mouse embryo cell (as normal cell) was not affected by the culture with media containing various amounts (1.45 to 30.0 ${\mu}g/ml$) of the extract. 5. The crude extract could be purified about four times by silicic acid column chromatography using several solvent systems, and one spot of active compound could be obtained on the thin-layer chromatogram. 6. In the Swiss mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180 cells, a survival time of the experimental group (injection group of active compound) was extended more. 1.5 to 2.0 times than the control group's(no injection group).