• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.102-107
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• 1997

Ginseng root, as a folk medicine, has been used in far eastern countries for thousands of years. Ginseng extract has been shown to have a variety of effects on the activity of the central nervous system, promoting stimulation as well as inhibition of the cortical activity. A survey of the relevant literatures has indicated that the putative anxiolytic activity of red ginseng has not been scientifically investigated. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess anxiolytic effect of gingseng total saponins(GTS). The putative anxiolytic effects of several fractions of GTS were investigated in mice using an elevated plus maze paradigm. Single dose administration of TS Fr.-I showed anxiolytic action in mice. Anxiolytic effect induced by TS Fr.-I was similar to that induced by diazepam. TS Fr.-II, TS Fr.-III and TS Fr.-IV did not show the anxiolytic action compared with that of TS Fr.-I. It was suggested that regulation of GABAergic neurotransmission may be important in the action of GTS. The Interaction of GTS fractions with benzodiazepine receptor was performed using rat cortical membranes. GTS inhibited the binding of [3H] Ro 15-1788 on the benzodiazepine receptor. Among from TS fractions, the binding activity of GTS in the TS Fr.-IV was highest, which did not show the anxiolytic activity. From these results, we conclude that GTS has anxiolytic action, and this is not related to benzodiazepine receptor binding activity.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.216-220
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• 2002

This study was conducted to know the change pattern of chemical components, especially proximate constituents, saponin and free sugars in roots of 4-year ginseng according to different harvesting time, and to find out the optimum harvesting time on the basis of chemical components in fourth year ginseng root. The crude protein content was 20.77% of the highest on the April (shootinzg stage),13.13% of the lowest on the June among all growing stages, and was constant at 17% after the August. But crude oil and fiber contents showed the highest value on the May (flowering stage). The content of total sugars which was the largest constituent among the chemical components in ginseng root was in the range of 60~7(1% during the all growing stages. It showed the highest value of 7l% on the June, but the lowest of 60% on the May. The total free sugar contents was the highest on the April (20.40%), but the lowest on the May (11.89%). The change pattern of sucrose contents (10.96-19.60%) was same as the total sugars contents (11.89-20.40%), on the other hand, the contents of glucose and maltose were not changed significantly during all harvesting times. The contents of crude saponins and total ginsenosides had the value of 7.60% and 4.09% on the May, respectively. That was statistically significant, but the other harvesting times were not. Therefore, on the basis of the only chemical characteristics in the four year-old ginseng root, we suggest that the harvesting on the May at flowering stage was most proper time.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.504-511
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• 2018

Background: The biological activities of ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) are associated with type, number, and position of sugar moieties linked to aglycone skeletons. Deglycosylated minor ginsenosides are known to be more biologically active than major ginsenosides. Accordingly, the deglycosylation of major ginsenosides can provide the multibioactive effects of ginsenosides. The purpose of this study was to transform ginsenoside Rb2, one of the protopanaxadiol-type major ginsenosides, into minor ginsenosides using ${\beta}$-glycosidase (BG-1) purified from Armillaria mellea mycelium. Methods: Ginsenoside Rb2 was hydrolyzed by using BG-1; the hydrolytic properties of Rb2 by BG-1 were also characterized. In addition, the influence of reaction conditions such as reaction time, pH, and temperature, and transformation pathways of Rb2, Rd, F2, compound O (C-O), and C-Y by treatment with BG-1 were investigated. Results: BG-1 first hydrolyzes 3-O-outer ${\beta}$-$\text\tiny{D}$-glucoside of Rb2, then 3-O-${\beta}$-$\text\tiny{D}$-glucoside of C-O into C-Y. C-Y was gradually converted into C-K with a prolonged reaction time, but the pathway of Rb2 ${\rightarrow}$ Rd ${\rightarrow}$ F2 ${\rightarrow}$ C-K was not observed. The optimum reaction conditions for C-Y and C-K formation from Rb2 by BG-1 were pH 4.0-4.5, temperature $45-60^{\circ}C$, and reaction time 72-96 h. Conclusion: ${\beta}$-Glycosidase purified from A. mellea mycelium can be efficiently used to transform Rb2 into C-Y and C-K. To our best knowledge, this is the first result of transformation from Rb2 into C-Y and C-K by basidiomycete mushroom enzyme.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.750-758
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• 2022

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional condition between normality and dementia. Ginseng is known to have effects on attenuating cognitive deficits in neurogenerative diseases. Ginsenosides are the main bioactive component of ginseng, and their protein targets have not been fully understood. Furthermore, no thorough analysis is reported in ginsenoside-related protein targets in MCI. Methods: The candidate protein targets of ginsenosides in brain tissues were identified by drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) coupled with label-free liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Network pharmacology approach was used to collect the therapeutic targets for MCI. Based on the above-mentioned overlapping targets, we built up a proteineprotein interaction (PPI) network in STRING database and conducted gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. Finally, we assessed the effects of ginseng total saponins (GTS) and different ginsenosides on mitochondrial function by measuring the activity of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex and performing molecular docking. Results: We screened 2526 MCI-related protein targets by databases and 349 ginsenoside-related protein targets by DARTS. On the basis of these 81 overlapping genes, enrichment analysis showed the mitochondria played an important role in GTS-mediated MCI pharmacological process. Mitochondrial function analysis showed GTS, protopanaxatriol (PPT), and Rd increased the activities of complex I in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular docking also predicted the docking pockets between PPT or Rd and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I. Conclusion: This study indicated that ginsenosides might alleviate MCI by targeting respiratory chain complex I and regulating mitochondrial function, supporting ginseng's therapeutic application in cognitive deficits.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.50
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• pp.19-26
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• 2023

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) is an economically important plant because of it is rich in saponins. It is mainly cultivated in Asia, including Korea and China. Since ginseng requires a long breeding period due to juvenility, homozygote production techniques, such as anther culture, must be urgently established. In the present study, callus induction and embryogenesis through anther culture were observed in P. ginseng. Murashige and Skoog medium was used as the basal medium suitable for callus induction. When the medium was supplemented with 3% sucrose, the callus induction rate was high and the callus size was large. Cold pretreatment did not significantly affect callus induction and embryogenesis. Embryogenesis was the most efficient when the embryo-formation medium was supplemented with 1.0 or 3.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Cultivar significantly affected anther culture efficiency. Specifically, 'Cheongseon' showed the highest embryo-formation efficiency, whereas no embryogenesis occurred in 'Sunun'. Ploidy assessment revealed the haploid status of the induced calli. Embryos derived from anther culture formed shoots upon transfer to germination medium, although no difference in ploidy was noted between the induced callus and control. Overall, the anther culture conditions established in the present study may contribute to the production of homozygous P. ginseng plants in the future.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.166-172
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• 2001

In order to increase ginsenoside content, to reduce chemical change, to shorten extracting procedure, new methods of extraction and fractionation of crude ginseng saponin were established and compared for their chemical composition. Those are hot MeOH extraction/n-BuOH fractionation (BuOH method) and hot MeOH extraction/Diaion HP-20 adsorption/MeOH elution (HP-20 method), which are already known methods, and additional three new methods: hot MeOH extraction/cation AG 50W $adsorption/H_2O$ elution/n-BuOH extraction (AG 50W method), cool MeOH extraction/Diaion HP-20 adsorption/MeOH elution (cool extraction method) and direct extraction with EtOAc/n-BuOH (direct extraction method). AG 50W method provided a crude saponin showing the highest content of ginsenosides of 61.5% and the lowest contents of protein and free amino acids of 0.93% and 0.19%, respectively. The protein content was the highest as 14.18% in the crude saponin by HP-20 method, while free sugar content was the highest as 13.5% by BuOH method, indicating that these are factors that lower the rate of ginsenoside in crude saponins by those methods. On the other hand, it was revealed that AG 50W method produced large amount of prosapogenins during the pass through the cation exchange resin (AG 50W) column being strongly acidic. Crude saponin from direct extraction method showed relatively higher composition of ginsenoside $Rg_1$ and Re. The results suggest that contents and composition of ginsenosides and other chemical components in crude ginseng saponin greatly depend on the condition of the extraction and fractionation.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.23 no.2 s.54
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• pp.115-121
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• 1999

Effects of single and repeated administration of various nootropic candidates were examined on impaired acquisition by single oral administration of 3 g/kg ethanol (EtOH) in step through test. The inhibitory effect of EtOH on acquisition was significantly reduced by single picrotoxin, but not affected by diazepam, acetyl-L-carnitine and apomorphine. Single or repeated red ginseng total saponin and deprenyl, single piracetam, repeated N-methyl-D-glucamine, but not single or repeated protopanaxadiol, protopanaxatriol and centrophenoxine significantly ameliorated the impairment of acquisition by EtOH. On the other hand, the inhibitory effect of repeated red ginseng total saponin but not that of repeated N-methyl-D-Glucamine, was significantly blocked by pretreatment of $\alpha$-methyl-$\rho$-tyrosine, a inhibitor of catecholamine synthesis. Whereas, the inhibitory effect of repeated deprenyl on EtOH amnesia was exaggerated by $\alpha$-methyl-$\rho$-tyrosine. These results suggest that the amelioration processes of drugs on ethanol amnesia involve complex mechanism between the central GABAergic and dopaminergic neuronal activity in memory and learning, although the effects of repeated drugs administration are not yet clear.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.209-218
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• 1981

Free fatty acid and total saponin, which were extracted from the spent media and colony of the strain Phizopus delemar Rh-1, were qualitatively examined by GLC and spectroscopic methods and compared with these of intact ginseng media. The 18, 18, and 14 free fatty acids were respectively identified from the control, spent media and colony. Among them, $iC_{12:0},\;C_{16:2},\;C_{17:0},\;C_{18:3}\; and\;C_{20:0}$ acids were not detectable from the colony. In add ition, $C_{16:2}\;and\;C_{20:0}$ peaks were rot found in the spent media and control, respectively. The isible absorption spectra of free fatty acids and total saponins in the control, spent media and colony were invariable. In contrast, however, the infrared and ultraviolet absorption spectra showed significant spectral variations, particularly in the it finger-print region, demonstrating that the ginseng components were considerably utilized by the strain Rhizopus delemar Rh-1.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.578-585
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• 2012

Cytokines released from innate immune cells play key roles in the regulation of the immune response. Red Ginseng (RG, steamed and dried root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is known to show different pharmacological effects by changed composition of saponins compared with Panax Ginseng. In this study, we examined the immunomodulatory effects of RG on the regulation of cytokine release in mice. RG was injected i.p at doses of 0.5, 5 and 50 mg/kg for 6 weeks. We assessed that the weight index of immune organs such as thymus, and spleen, and the mitogen blastogenesis of splenocytes. We also determined the levels of circulating cytokines in serum from RG-treated mice using ELISA assay. The weight index of thymus and spleen, and proliferation of mitogen response of splenocytes have increased in the RG-injected groups. In addition, the levels of IFN-${\gamma}$, TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-2 concentrations have significantly increased in the serum of RG-treated mice, but that of IL-10 has not. These results suggest that RG has immune stimulating effects and could be useful as a immunoregulator of circulating cytokine release in vivo.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.3188-3194
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• 2014

Compound K (CK) was formulated as polymeric micelles (PM) using Pluronic$^{(R)}$ F-127 to enhance the oral absorption of CK, an intestinal bacterial metabolite of ginseng protopanaxadiol saponin. The physicochemical properties of Ck-loaded PM were characterized and an in vitro transport study using the Caco-2 cell system as well as an in vivo pharmacokinetic study using SD rats was carried out. The hydrodynamic mean particle size of CK-loaded PM (CK-PM) was $254{\pm}23.45nm$ after rehydration and the drug loading efficiency was ca. 99.9%. The FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy data supported the presence of a new solid phase in the PM. The $P_{app}$ value of in vitro Caco-2 cell permeation of CK-PM and the oral absorption of CK was enhanced about 1.2-fold and 2.6-fold compared to CK suspension, respectively, showing that the present PM formulation enabled an enhancement of oral CK absorption.