• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2005

The last two decades have shown a marked expansion in publications of diverse effects of Panax ginseng. Ginsenosides, as active ingredients of Panax ginseng, are saponins found in only ginseng. Recently, a line of evidences shows that ginsenosides regulate various types of ion channel activity such as $Ca^{2+},\;K^+,\;Na^+,\;Cl^-$, or ligand gated ion channels (i.e. $5-HT_3$, nicotinic acetylcholine, or NMDA receptor) in neuronal, non-neuronal cells, and heterologously expressed cells. Ginsenosides inhibit voltage-dependent $Ca^{2+},\;K^+,\;and\;Na^+$ channels, whereas ginsenosides activate $Ca^{2+}-activated\;Cl^-\;and\;Ca^{2+}-activated\;K^+$ channels. Ginsenosides also inhibit excitatory ligand-gated ion channels such as $5-HT_3$, nicotinic acetylcholine, and NMDA receptors. This review will introduce recent findings on the ginsenoside-induced differential regulations of ion channel activities and will further expand the possibilities how these ginsenoside-induced ion channel regulations are coupled to biological effects of Panax ginseng.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1988.08a
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• pp.141-146
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• 1988

Dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius L.) is a member of the ginseng family (Araliaceae). which is indigenous to North America and is distributed from Southern Canada to the Northern United States. In total. nine compounds were isolated from the leaves of Dwarf gineng. Of these. four were identified as flavonoids and five were found to be ginsenosides. Two of the flavonoids were identified to be kaempferol-3. 7-dirhamnoside and kaempferol-3-gluco-7-rhamnoside. Four of the ginsenosides were identified as notoginsenoside-Fe. ginsenoside-Rd. ginsenoside-Rc and $ginsenoside-Rb_1$ The common aglycone of these ginsenosides was shown to be (20S)-protopanaxadiol. The identification of flavonoids and ginsenosides from the root. stem. leaf. flower and fruit of Dwarf ginseng was detected by Two-Dimensional Thin-Layer Chromatography (2D-TLC) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The quantitation of flavonoids and ginsenosides from the root. stem. leaf. flower and fruit of Dwarf ginseng and related species such as Korean gineng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) was analyzed by HPLC only. Three flavonoids (Kaempferol derivatives) labelled compound 1 $(10.8\%)$, compound 3 ($2.8\%$), and compound 4 ($8.4\%)$ were found in the root of Dwarf ginseng but not found in the roots of Korean ginseng and American ginseng. This is the first time that flavonoids have been found and identified in roots of the ginseng family (Araliaceae).

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.188-191
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• 1991

The mild hydrolysis of ginsenosie Re with 50% acetic acid gave a prosapogenin mixture, 20(R)- and 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg2. The products were acetylated to give the peracetates, which were further converted into 20(R)- and 20(S)-ginsenoside Rh1 by the alcoholic alkaline treatment.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.186-192
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• 2021

The roots of Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) have a long history of usage as a medicinal drug. Ginsenosides, a group of triterpenioid saponins in ginseng, have been reported to show important pharmacological effects. Many studies have attempted to identify the ginsenoside synthesis pathways of P. ginseng and to increase crop productivity. Recent studies have shown that exogenous gibberellin (GA) treatments promote storage root secondary growth by integration of the modulating cambium stem cell homeostasis with a secondary cell wall-related gene network. However, the dynamic regulation of ginsenoside synthesis-related genes and their contents by external signaling cues has been rarely evaluated. In this study, we confirmed that GA treatment not only enhanced the secondary growth of P. ginseng storage roots, but also significantly enriched the terpenoid biosynthesis process in RNA-seq analysis. Consistently, we also found that the expression of most genes involved in the ginsenoside synthesis pathways, including those encoding methylerythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) and mevalonate (MVA), and the saponin content in both leaves and roots was increased by exogenous GA application. These results can be used in future development of biotechnology for ginseng breeding and enhancement of saponin content.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.256-259
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• 2009

The effects of benomyl treatment on ginsenoside and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis in the roots of Panax ginseng that were collected from two sites in Korea were investigated. The ginseng roots that were treated with benomyl showed different species compositions of AM fungi colonizing the ginseng roots, compared to untreated roots. In the analysis of ginsenoside, Rc was significantly higher in benomyl untreated roots than in benomyl treated roots. The results suggest that AM fungal species composition and ginsenosides in ginseng root could be influenced by the benomyl treatment.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to develop a new preparation process of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) extract featuring high concentration of ginsenoside $Rg_3$, $Rg_5$, and $Rk_1$, Red ginseng special components. Chemical transformation from ginseng saponin glycosides to prosapogenin was analyzed by the HPLC. Extracts of American ginseng were processed under several treatment conditions of microwave and vinegar (about 14% acidity). The results showed that the quantity of ginsenoside $Rg_3$ increased by over 0.9% at the 20 minutes of the pH 2~4 vinegar and microwave American ginseng ethanol extract compared with other process times. The result of MAG-20 indicates that the American ginseng microwave and vinegar-processed American ginseng extracts (about 14% acidity) treated for 20 minutes produced the highest amount of ginsenoside $Rg_3$ (0.969%), $Rg_5$ (1.071%), and $Rk_1$ (0.247%). Besides, MAG-15 indicates that the microwave - and vinegar-processed American ginseng extracts (about 14% acidity) treated for 15 minutes produced the highest amount of ginsenoside $Rg_3$ (0.772%), $Rg_5$ (1.330%), and $Rk_1$ (0.386%). This indicates that American ginseng treated with microwave and vinegar had the quantity of the ginsenoside $Rg_3$ over 32 times the amount of the ginsenoside $Rg_3$ (which was not found in raw and American ginsengs) in the average commercial Red ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.98-103
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• 2010

The medicinal plant Panax ginseng (P. ginseng) contains various phytosterols and bioactive triterpene saponins (ginsenosides). Squalene synthase catalyzes the first committed step in ginsenoside biosynthesis. Transgenic plants of P. ginseng were generated by introducing the squalene synthase gene derived from P. ginseng. Adventitious roots of the transgenic ginseng grew best in B5 medium, and 2 g of inoculum secured an optimal growth rate. Two phytohormones, indolebutyric acid and 1-naphtalene acetic acid, increased root growth and decreased ginsenoside production. Treatment with two selected elicitors, chitosan and jasmonic acid, and a precursor of the isoprenoid pathway, mevalonic acid, enhanced ginsenoside production and retarded ginseng growth rate.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.84-91
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• 2016

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) has been used as a traditional herbal medicine in East Asia and is very popular in the world, because of its health benefits. To comparison of pharmacological components and physiochemical properties between white and red ginseng from same body, we analyzed ginsenoside and malonyl ginsenoside, ash, crude lipid/protein, fatty acid, mineral contents, total/reducing sugar, and total phenolic and acidic polysaccharide contents. The general components did not show any significant difference between white and red ginseng. Whereas, the content of neutral ginsenoside $Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, Rc and Rd were higher in red ginseng than those of white ginseng. However, malonyl ginsenoside such as $m-Rb_1$, $m-Rb_2$, m-Rc and m-Rd in white ginseng were similar to neutral ginsenoside $Rb_1$, $Rb_2$, Rc and Rd in white ginseng and far higher than those of red ginseng. These results exhibit that malonyl ginsenosides were converted to neutral ginsenosides in steaming process for red ginseng. So, we suggest that malonyl ginsenoside are necessary to applies in ginsenoside analysis of Korean ginseng.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.112-116
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• 1990

As a part of studies on the quality control of crude drug preparation drinks, ginseng saponins were identified by HPLC. Ginsenoside-Rb1 was determined quantitatively by HPLC. Ginsenoside MeOH/H2O(65:35:10, v/v) on Si-gel plate. Ginsenoside-Rb1 content determined by HPLC on Lichrosorbtract drinks was 57.5-70.4% compared to the content in the red ginseng extract.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.227-237
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• 2002

One prominent characteristic of2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzop-dioxin (TCDD) toxicity in rats is a reduction of body weight accompanied by an altered serum lipid profile such as hyperlipidemia. A single administration of TCDD (50 ug/kg) resulted in a decrease of body weight and increase of serum cholesterol in rats. TCDD-induced weight loss and serum cholesterol elevation was reduced in rats administered with water extract (100 mg/kg) or saponin fraction (40 mg/kg) of Panax ginseng C.A.Meyer. In contrast, the administration of Panax quinquefolium did not inhibit the TCDD-induced weight loss and serum cholesterol elevation. Histological examinations of liver and testis revealed the administration of saponin fraction of Panax ginseng attenuated the TCDD-induced hispathologicallesions whereas the administration of saponin fraction of Panax quinquefolium did not. High performance liquid chromatographic analysis demonstrated high percentiles of ginsenoside Rg and ginsenoside $Rh_1$ were evident in saponin fraction of Panax ginseng. Results indicate that the protective effects of Panax ginseng, not Panax quinquefolium, on the TCDD-induced toxicity might be resulted from different compositions of saponins in Panax ginseng.