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

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.508-516
• /
• 2019

Background: Ginsenosides are not only the principal bioactive components but also the important indexes to the quality assessment of Panax ginseng Meyer. Their contents in cultivated ginseng vary with the growth environment and age. The present study aimed at evaluating the significant difference between 36 cultivated ginseng of different cultivation areas and ages based on the simultaneously determined contents of 14 ginsenosides. Methods: A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS) method was developed and used in the multiple reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode (HPLC-MRM/MS) for the quantitative analysis of ginsenosides. Multivariate statistical analysis, such as principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis, was applied to discriminate ginseng samples of various cultivation areas and ages and to discover the differentially accumulated ginsenoside markers. Results: The developed HPLC-MRM/MS method was validated to be precise, accurate, stable, sensitive, and repeatable for the simultaneous determination of 14 ginsenosides. It was found that the 3- and 5-yr-old ginseng samples were differentiated distinctly by all means of multivariate statistical analysis, whereas the 4-yr-old samples exhibited similarity to either 3- or 5-yr-old samples in the contents of ginsenosides. Among the 14 detected ginsenosides, Rg1, Rb1, Rb2, Rc, 20(S)-Rf, 20(S)-Rh1, and Rb3 were identified as potential markers for the differentiation of cultivation ages. In addition, the 5-yr-old samples were able to be classified in cultivation area based on the contents of ginsenosides, whereas the 3- and 4-yr-old samples showed little differences in cultivation area. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the HPLC-MRM/MS method combined with multivariate statistical analysis provides deep insight into the accumulation characteristics of ginsenosides and could be used to differentiate ginseng that are cultivated in different areas and ages.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.349-354
• /
• 2013

Dried ginseng (DG) is in fact the representing ginseng product in the worldwide market. Although it is made in various packages depending on the processing method, size and age of DG, basic scientific data reporting the chemical components are limited. In this study, 4-year-old curved ginseng (CG), one of the domestic DG products, was selected for further investigation. Eighty-six samples of 30 and 50 piece-grade CG, which are the most widely distributed in the market, were collected for 5 yr. Their major components, such as moisture, total sugar, acidic polysaccharides, total phenolic compounds, and saponins, were analyzed to figure out the standard quality characteristics. The moisture content of all CG samples was less than 15%. The total water-soluble sugar contents were 22.9% to 47.8% and 23.2% to 49.5% in the 30 and 50 piece-grade CG, respectively. The acidic polysaccharide contents were 3.6% to 6.7% and 2.9% to 6.9% in the 30 and 50 piece-grade CG, respectively. The total phenolic compound content was 0.4% to 0.5% in CG, regardless of the piece-grade. The crude saponin content, which represents the active component of ginseng, was over 2% in all samples. In 30 piece-grade CG samples, the contents of major ginsenosides, Rb1, Rf, and Rg1, were 2.2 to 4.7 mg/g, 0.4 to 1.3 mg/g, and 1.6 to 4.0 mg/g, respectively. The ginsenoside contents in 50 piece-grade CG samples were 2.1 to 3.9 mg/g (Rb1), 0.5 to 1.2 mg/g (Rf), and 1.3 to 3.4 mg/g (Rg1). Overall, since there were relatively high standard deviation and coefficient of variation in all the chemical component contents that were assessed, we found some difficulties in showing the CG standard chemical component characteristics by average, standard deviation, and other statistical analysis factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.35 no.10
• /
• pp.1444-1448
• /
• 2006

This study was investigated for quality characteristics of Baechukimchi with ginseng during fermentation. For Baechukimchi preparation, original ingredients of Baechukimchi and high contents of ginseng were used. In the initial pH and titratable acidity of each samples, ginseng -added Kimchi showed a little higher value than pH 5.48 and 0.25% acidity of the control Kimchi. Ginseng-added Kimchi showed higher values of total microbes $(1.90\times10^6\sim2.93\times10^6)$ and lactic acid bacteria $(2.21\times10^6\sim2.62\times10^6)$ than the control Kimchi. The control Kimchi was total microbes of $1.59\times10^5$ and lactic acid bacteria of $7.60\times10^4$. According to fermentation periods, ginseng-added Kimchi showed decrease of pH and increase of titratable acidity than the control Kimchi, but it. was not different for the microbes between Kimchi samples. In the taste intensity of sensory evaluation, ginseng-added Kimchi was evaluated higher value than the control Kimchi and kept up texture, properties of initial preparation between samples during fermentation periods. In the crude saponin content, raw ginseng was 5.89% by dry basis and it was decreased to 3.74% after fermentation. And the individual ginsenosides content of Re, $Rg_1$, Rf, $Rg_2,\;Rh_1,\;Rb_1,$, Rc, $Rb_2$, Rd, $Rg_3$, but $Rg_3$ were decreased and $Rh_1$ were increased from 16.6 mg%, and 22.2 mg/% to 59.2 mg%, and 39.4 mg%, respectively.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.437-443
• /
• 2013

Rice wine (makgeolli) containing various amounts of mountain ginsengs (MG) are being prepared with nuruk and yeasts, and the physicochemical characteristics and contents of ginsenosides in MG-makgeolli were analyzed. Average particle size of MG powder is $29.1{\mu}m$. MG slice (20 g) or powder (0~20 g) and rice (3,000 g) were used for 12 days fermentation of makgeolli, makgeolli containing slice of MG (SW-makgeolli), makgeolli containing 2 g (PW1-makgeolli), 10 g (PW2- makgeolli), 20 g (PW3-makgeolli) of powder of MG, respectively. Soluble solids and pH levels show no differences between five kinds of makgeolli groups, whilst the presence of high amounts of MG (PW3-makgeolli) caused decreases in ethanol and acidity. Major free amino acids in MG-makgeolli are glutamic acid and arginine. Total contents of 14 ginsenosides are approximately 2.5 g/100 g of dried MG powder and major ginsenoside were ginsenosides Re, Rb1, Rb2, Rg1, Rc and Rf. During the propagation of makgeolli containing MG, the ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, and Rc decreased, whilst ginsenosides Rg3 and compound K increased highly. It indicates that ginsenosides in MG are metabolized to different forms of ginsenosides by brewing microorganisms.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.99-106
• /
• 2009

Objectives : The antidepressant effect of the subchronic administration of the methanolic extract of wild ginseng(WG) was investigated compared with that of cultivated ginseng(CG, panax ginseng) extract. Methods : To assess the antidepressant effect of the ginseng extracts, tail suspension test(TST) was executed in mice after daily administration of WG or CG extract for five consecutive days. Results : The WG extract at daily dose of 600mg/kg significantly reduced the total duration of immobility in the TST, whereas there was no significant reduction at daily dose of 300mg/kg WG and 600mg/kg CG. There were no individual differences between experimental groups in open field test (OFT) to evaluate psychostimulant effects of WG or CG extract. In the high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) analysis of the extracts, it was found that WG included four times more ginsenoside Rg1 and Re, three times more Rf, and six times more Rb1 and Rc than CG. Conclusions : It is suggested that WG extract has stronger antidepressant effect than CG extract, which means it includes more antidepressant compounds than CG.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.126-132
• /
• 1998

In the present study, we examined effects of ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) on pp60c-src protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) activity, intracellular calcium concentration ([$Ca^{2+}$]i), and cell proliferation in NIH3T3 cells. Eight different ginsenosides [ginsenoside-Rb1 (G-$Rb_1$), -$Rb_2$, -Rc, -Rd, -Re, -Rf, -$Rg_1$, -$Rg_2$) and ginseng total saponin (GTS) were used for these experiments. All ginsenosides and GTS tested stimulated the activation of $pp60^{c-src}$ kinase, and especially G-$Rb_1$,-Rd,-$Rg_1$, and -$Rg_1$ showed a higher stimulatory effect than others at 16.7 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of ginsenosides with a 18 hr-incubation, increasing the activity by 4.5, 3.5, 3.5, and 3.0-fold, respectively, over that of untreated control. In addition, both G-Rd and -$Rg_2$)Rg2 increased ($Ca^{2+}$), to 202 and 334 nM, respectively, about 2-3-fold above the basal level within 7min at 250 $\mu\textrm{g}$/yml of ginsenosides. The increases of ($Ca^{2+}$), were eliminated by Pretreatment of EGTA, an extracellular calcium chelator, suggtasting that they result from an influx of calcium ion from extracellular medium rather than an efflux from intracellular calcium store, endoplasmic reticulum (ER). All ginsenosides studied enhanced cell proliferation to 1.2-1.4-fold over that of untreated control at 5~250 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of concentrations. Interestingly the promotion of cell proliferation by ginsenosides corresponded with the activation of c-src kinase, which is an early step in the mitogenic signaling cascade. Taken together, we suggest that some ginsenosides may lead to cellProliferation via the activation of cellular signal transduction Pathway involving $pp60^{c-src}$ kinase.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.368-375
• /
• 2014

Red ginseng (Panax ginseng), a Korean traditional medicinal plant, contains a variety of ginsenosides as major functional components. It is necessary to remove sugar moieties from the major ginsenosides, which have a lower absorption rate into the intestine, to obtain the aglycone form. To screen for microorganisms showing bioconversion activity for ginsenosides from red ginseng, 50 yeast strains were isolated from Korean traditional meju (a starter culture made with soybean and wheat flour for the fermentation of soybean paste). Twenty strains in which a black zone formed around the colony on esculin-yeast malt agar plates were screened first, and among them 5 strains having high ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity on p-nitrophenyl-${\beta}$-D-glucopyranoside as a substrate were then selected. Strain JNO301 was finally chosen as a bioconverting strain in this study on the basis of its high bioconversion activity for red ginseng extract as determined by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis. The selected bioconversion strain was identified as Candida allociferrii JNO301 based on the nucleotide sequence analysis of the 18S rRNA gene. The optimum temperature and pH for the cell growth were $20{\sim}30^{\circ}C$ and pH 5~8, respectively. TLC analysis confirmed that C. allociferrii JNO301 converted ginsenoside Rb1 into Rd and then into F2, Rb2 into compound O, Rc into compound Mc1, and Rf into Rh1. Quantitative analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography showed that bioconversion of red ginseng extract resulted in an increase of 2.73, 3.32, 33.87, 16, and 5.48 fold in the concentration of Rd, F2, compound O, compound Mc1, and Rh1, respectively.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.198-204
• /
• 2012

An light-emitting diode (LED)-based light source was used as a monochromatic light source to determine the responses of raw ginseng roots (Panax ginseng Meyer) to specific emission spectra with respect to the production of ginsenosides. The ginsenoside content in the ginseng roots changed in response to the LED light treatments at $25^{\circ}C$ relative to the levels in the control roots that were treated in the dark or at $4^{\circ}C$ for 7 d. Ginseng roots were exposed to LEDs with four different peak emission wavelengths, 380, 450, 470, and 660 nm, in closed compartments. Compared with the control $4^{\circ}C$-treated roots, roots that were treated with 450 and 470 nm light showed a significantly increased production of ginsenosides (p<0.05), with increases of 64.9% and 74.1%, respectively. The contents of the ginsenosides $Rb_2$, Rc, and $Rg_1$ were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the 450 and 470 nm-treated root samples. The ratio of protopanaxadiol ginsenosides ($Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, Rc, and Rd) to protopanaxatriol ginsenosides ($Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, Re, and Rf) was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the 450 and 470 nm-treated root samples than in the control $4^{\circ}C$-treated roots. This is the first report that demonstrates the increase and conversion of ginsenosides in raw ginseng roots in response to exposure to LED light.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.476-484
• /
• 2018

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (steamed and dried white ginseng, Panax ginseng Meyer) is well known for enhancing vital energy and immune capacity and for inhibiting cancer cell growth. Some clinical studies also demonstrated a therapeutic potential of ginseng extract for treating lung inflammatory disorders. This study was conducted to establish the therapeutic potential of ginseng saponins on the lung inflammatory response. Methods: From Korean Red Ginseng, 11 ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg1, Rg2, Rg3, and Rh2) were isolated. Their inhibitory potential and action mechanism were evaluated using a mouse model of lung inflammation, acute lung injury induced by intranasal lipopolysaccharide administration. Their anti-inflammatory activities were also examined in lung epithelial cell line (A549) and alveolar macrophage (MH-S). Results: All ginsenosides orally administered at 20 mg/kg showed 11.5-51.6% reduction of total cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Among the ginsenosides, Rc, Re, Rg1, and Rh2 exhibited significant inhibitory action by reducing total cell numbers in the BALF by 34.1-51.6% (n = 5). Particularly, Re showed strong and comparable inhibitory potency with that of dexamethasone, as judged by the number of infiltrated cells and histological observations. Re treatment clearly inhibited the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$, and the c-Fos component in the lung tissue (n = 3). Conclusion: Certain ginsenosides inhibit lung inflammatory responses by interrupting these signaling molecules and they are potential therapeutics for inflammatory lung diseases.