Review of Red Ginseng in terms of Mechanisms for Pharmacodynamics and Toxicity

홍삼의 약리와 독성 기전에 대한 고찰

  • Park, Yeong-Chul (GLP Center, Catholic University of Daegu) ;
  • Lim, Jung-Dae (Dept. of Herbal Medicine Resource, Kangwon National University (Dogye Campus)) ;
  • Kim, Jong-Bong (Department of Medical Life Science, Catholic University of Daegu) ;
  • Lee, Sundong (Dept. of Preventive medicine, School of Oriental Medicine, Sangji University)
  • 박영철 (대구가톨릭대학교 GLP 센터) ;
  • 임정대 (강원대학교 생약자원개발학과) ;
  • 김종봉 (대구가톨릭대학교 의생명과학과) ;
  • 이선동 (상지대학교 한의과대학 예방의학교실)
  • Received : 2012.08.13
  • Accepted : 2012.09.05
  • Published : 2012.09.30

Abstract

Objectives: Ginseng, Panax ginseng C. A., white ginseng, has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Korean Medicine. Red ginseng can be made by a steaming process of white ginseng changing a variety of ginsenosides and ingredients such as dencichine. This article reviews red ginseng for mechanisms for pharmacodynamics and toxicity based on the content of ginseng's active ingredients, ginsenoside changed by steaming. Methods: The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, Science Direct and Chinese Scientific Journals full text database (CQVIP), and KSI (Korean Studies Information) from their respective inceptions to June 2012. Results: Compared with unsteamed ginseng, the content of ginsenosides Rg2, Rg3, Rg5, Rh1, Rh2 and Rk1 called red ginseng-specific ginsenosides increased after the steaming process. Different ginsenosides have shown a wide variety of effects such as lowering or raising blood sugar and blood pressure or stimulating or sedating the nervous system. Especially, the levels of Rg2, Rg3, Rg5, Rh1, Rh2 and Rk1 were increased by the steaming process, showing a variety of pharmacodynamics in biological systems. Also, various processing methods such as puffing and fermentation have been developed in processing crude ginseng or red ginseng, affecting the content of ginseng's ingredients. The safety issue could be the most critical, specifically, on changed ginseng's ingredients such as dencichine. The level of dencichine was significantly reduced in red ginseng by the steaming process. In addition, the possible toxicity for red ginseng was affected by cytochrome P450, a herbal-drug interaction. Conclusions: The variety of pharmacological and toxicological properties should be changed by steaming process of Panax ginseng C. A., white ginseng. Even if it is not sure whether the steaming process of white ginseng would be better pharmacologically, it is sure that steaming reduces the level of dencichine causing a lower toxicity to the nervous system.

Keywords

References

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