Abstract
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.