• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.287-299
• /
• 2011

Pharmacological effects of Panax ginseng have been demonstrated in cardiovascular system, endocrine secretion and immune system, together with antitumor, anti-stress and anti-oxidant activities. Modern scientific data show protective effect of ginseng against bone marrow cell death, increased survival rate of experimental animals, recovery of hematopoietic injury, immunopotentiation, reduction of damaged intestinal epithelial cells, inhibition of mutagenesis and effective protection against testicular damages, caused by radiation exposure. And also, ginseng acts in indirect fashion to protect radical processes by inhibition of initiation of free radical processes and thus reduces the radiation damages. The research has made much progress, but still insufficient to fully uncover the action mechanism of ginseng components on the molecule level. This review provides the usefulness of natural product, showing no toxic effects, as an radioprotective agent. Furthermore, the further clinical trials on radioprotection of ginseng need to be highly done to clarify its scientific application. The effective components of ginseng has been known as ginsenosides. Considering that each of these ginsenosides has pharmacological effect, it seems likely that non-saponin components might have radioprotective effects superior to those of ginsenosides, suggesting its active ingredients to be non-saponin series. These results also show that the combined effects of saponin and non-saponin components play an important role in the radioprotective effects of ginseng.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.252-257
• /
• 2018

It is noted that Dioscorea quinqueloba is a medicinal herb that is widely used to treat cardiovascular disease and is assessed as useful to treat other various medical conditions. The immunopotentiating effects of the protein extract (DQP-1) from Dioscorea quinqueloba were thus formally investigated in vivo under incident of cold stress. In this case study, the spleen and thymus weight in mice was shown to have decreased after a measured exposure to cold stress, while the adrenal gland weight in the mice was shown to have increased. The systematic oral administration of DQP-1 significantly recovered the weight loss of the spleen and suppressed the adrenal gland hypertrophy during the association with cold stress. Additionally, the DQP-1 also restored the ascorbic acid level in the adrenal gland reduced after cold stress. The cold stress exposure lowered the percentage of $CD4^+$ and $CD8^+$ cells in the mouse thymus as determined by the flow cytometric analysis, as well as the levels of some serum immunological cytokines(interleukin-2, interleukin-12, and interferon-${\gamma}$) in the studied mice. The resulting identified weakened immunity caused by cold stress was also recovered by a treatment with DQP-1. The DQP-1 significantly suppressed the formation of serum enzymes of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase, which were systematically elevated during the cold stress episode. These results indicate that DQP-1 can improve immunity in mice that are characteristically weakened under stress.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.66-74
• /
• 2008

Tremella aurantialba, one of edible and medicinal mushrooms belonging to Tremellaceae of Basidiomycota, has been known to have outstanding curing effects on coughing, tracheitis and hypertension of humans and antitumor activity on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr. NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that all crude polysaccharides extracted from the fruiting body were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as RAW 309 CR.1 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of $2000\;{\mu}g/ml$. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of $11.1{\sim}66.7%$ in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. MeOH improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by 1.16 folds at the concentration of $200\;{\mu}g/ml$. In case of Fr. HW, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 1.42 and 2.87 folds, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.101-108
• /
• 2007

Armillaria tabescens, one of edible and medicinal mushrooms belonging to Agaricales of Basidiomycota, has been known to have outstanding curative effects on chronic hepatitis and cholecystitis and inhibitory effects on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral saline soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr, NaCl, Fr. HW and Fr, MeOH, respectively) were extracted from fruiting body of the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests showed that crude polysaccharides were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of $2000\;{\mu}g/ml$. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of $28.8{\sim}46.5%$ in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180, respectively. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by $1.8{\sim}2.1$ folds, respectively. In case of Fr, NaCl, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 9 and 1.9 folds, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.98-104
• /
• 2006

Armillaria mellea, one of edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to Tricholomataceae of Basid-iomycota, has been known to have outstanding inhibitive effects on the sarcoma 180 and Erhrlich carcinoma of mice. Neutral salt soluble (0.9% NaCl), hot water soluble and methanol soluble substances (hereinafter referred to Fr. NaCl, Fr, HW and Fr. MeOH, respectively) were extracted from the mushroom. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, crude polysaccharide were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180 at the concentration of $1000{\mu}g/ml$. Intraperitoneal injection with crude polysaccharides exhibited life prolongation effect of $60{\sim}67.5%$ in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180, respectively. Fr, NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by $1.8{\sim}3.0$ folds, respectively. In case of Fr. NaCl, the numbers of peritoneal exudate cells and circulating leukocytes were increased by 10 and 2 folds, respectively.