• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 1993

We attempted in this study to understand the hypoglycemic action of the fat soluble fraction of red ginseng roots in streptozotocin injected diabetic rats, through its actions on several enzymes relating to carbohydrate metabolism of the 1eve1 to compare with those of ginsenosides in streptozotocin injected diabetic rats. It was realized that the increased level of glucose, ketone bodies, lactate, nonesterified fatty acids and triacylglycerol in blood was significantly decreased and the decreased liver glycogen content of streptozotocin injected rats were appreciably moderated by intraperitoneal injection of the fat soluble fraction of red ginseng roots as shown in the saponin injected diabetic rats. The deceased activities of liver enzymes relating to carbohydrate metabolism such as phosphofructokinase, glucokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and acetyl CoA carboxylase of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats were also sufficiently modified by the intraperitoneal injection of the above fat soluble fraction as shown in the ginsenoside injected streptozotocin induced rats.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 1993

This study was made to understand a hypoglycemic action of the fat soluble fraction of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats by determining the activities of several enzymes related to carbohydrate and lipid metabolism as well as several blood component levels such as glucose and ketone bodies, and non-esterified fatty acids. Albino rats (Sprague Dawley, 170-200g, 3) were injected once with 70mg streptozotocinhg body weight intraperitoneally and fed with ordinary diet for 7 days, and then the fat soluble fraction (5 mg~20 mg/day/rat) was injected intraperitoneally once a day for three days to rats having high blood glucose level over 340 mg/100ml. After a final injection of the fat soluble fraction, rats u.ere starved for 16 hours followed by the analysis of blood serum and liver enzymes. It was found that increased levels of glucose, ketone bodies and free fatty acids in streptozotocin induced rats were decreased appreciably by administration of the fat soluble fraction. However, the amount of administered fat soluble fraction did not show any significantly different hypoglycemic action. Decreased activities of glucokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and acetyl CoA carboxylase of the liver of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats were greatly modified suggesting that a hypoglycemic action of the fat soluble fraction was also appreciable as ginseng saponin fraction. We also compared a hypoglycemic action of the fat soluble fraction prepared from American ginseng and Chinese ginseng with that of Korean pain ginseng. 핀o significant difference of the hypoglycemic activity was observed between the above ginseng fat soluble fractions, suggesting that a study of the fat soluble fraction might be one of the most interesting subjects relating to diabetic hyperglycemia in the near future.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2008

Non-saponin gingseng fraction components (NSRG) have been known to have a variety of biological activity. However, the effects of these components on the function of brain cell have not been characterized in detail. In this study, we investigated the preventive effect of non-saponin red ginseng components on acrylamide (ACR)-induced suppression of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), which is highly expressed in neuronal cells. The data showed that NSRG blocked the suppression of NCAM expression by ACR in neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-SH). In addition, NSRG significantly increased NCAM expression in ACR-nontreated neuroblastoma cells. NSRG treatment resulted in the increase of cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. We also examined whether NSRG could modulate the NO production of astrocytes. When glioma cells (C6) were treated with various concentrations of NSRG (100-300 ug/ml) in the presence or absence of $IFN-{\gamma}$ for 24 hours, NO production was suppressed in $IFN-{\gamma}-$stimulated C6 cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that treatment of brain cells with NSRG results in the enhancement of proliferation, the suppression of NO production and the protective effect on NCAM expression impaired by ACR. Thus, the present data suggest that NSRG has proliferative and neuroprotective effects and these effects could be useful in neuronal diseases.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.76-86
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• 1988

The rats were fed with 12% ethanol with and/or without 0. l% ginseng saponin instead of water for 6 days, and the acetaldehyde level of liver and serum, and [$NAD^+$]/ [NADH] and [$NADP^+$]/[NADPH] ratios of the liver were investigated. Acetaldehyde level of ethanol fed group (control) in liver and serum was much higher than not-ethanol fed group (normal), but that of ginseng saponin containing ethanol fed group (test) was only slightly higher than that of normal group. Decrease of [$NAD^+$] / (NADH) ratio of test group was also much greater than that of control group. Distribution of the radioactivity in hepatic lipids after the [l-$^{l4}C$]-ethanol feeding intraperitonealy was investigated 30 minutes later. It was found that total radioactivity of the hepatic lipids of test group was much lower than that of control group. Analysis of individual lipids such as phospholipids, cholesterol, fatty acid and triglycerides showed that the depression of phospholipid biosynthesis and increase of fatty acid and triglycerides caused by ethanol feeding were significantly recovered by the co-feeding of ginseng saponin.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.325-330
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• 2011

Red ginseng saponin fraction-A (RGSF-A) contains a high percentage of panaxadiol saponins that were isolated from Korean red ginseng by ultrafiltration. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of RGSF-A on the porcine distal left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. The relaxant responses to RGSF-A were examined during contractions induced by 100 nM U46619 (9,11-dideoxy-9a,11a-methanoepoxy-prostaglandin F2a), a stable analogue of thromboxane A2. RGSF-A dose-dependently induced biphasic (fast- and slow-) relaxation in the distal LAD coronary artery in the presence of an intact endothelium. The fast-relaxation was quickly achieved in a minute, and then the slow-relaxation was slowly developed and sustained for more than thirty minutes after the administration of RGSF-A. The slow-relaxation had a tendency to be bigger than the fast-relaxation. Fast relaxation induced by RGSF-A was almost blocked by $N_{\omega}$-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a nitric oxide synthase synthase inhibitor and 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor. However slow relaxation induced by RGSF-A was only partially inhibited by L-NAME and ODQ. In the endothelium-removed ring, RGSF-A evoked only slowrelaxation to a certain extent. These data suggest that RGSF-A induced both endothelium dependent fast- and slow-relaxation and endothelium independent slow-relaxation in the porcine distal LAD coronary artery. The endothelium dependent fast-relaxation is mediated by the nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP pathway, and the endothelium dependent slow-relaxation is at least partially mediated by the NO-cGMP pathway. However, the endothelium-independent slow-relaxation remains to be elucidated.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.339-350
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• 2013

The decreased body, liver, kidney, spleen and testis weights of guinea pigs by TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetracholorodibenzo-${\rho}$-dioxin) treatment (TT) were statistically significantly increased after treating red ginseng saponin fraction (SF) (p>0.01). After treated with SF, the decreased hematocrits values and numbers of RBC and platelet, activity of amylase and lactate dehydrogenase, levels of uric acid, total protein and albumin by TT were increased, and the increased numbers of WBC, levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, activities of creatinine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were decreased after treated with SF. And they all had a statistical significance (p>0.01) except for RBC, WBC, platelet, blood glucose, TC, calcium and albumin. From these results, we knew that SF mollified the acute toxicity induced by TCDD in guinea pigs.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.70-80
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of red ginseng-derived non-saponin fraction (NSF) on inflammatory responses and monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation in RAW264.7 and THP-1. NSF effectively inhibited inflammatory responses by downregulating nitric oxide (NO) production and protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). NSF ($2000{\mu}g/mL$) decreased the levels of NO, iNOS, and COX-2 by 33, 83, and 64%, respectively. NSF inhibited the differentiation of monocyte-to-macrophage by decreasing cell adherence along with downregulation of the cluster of differentiation molecule $11{\beta}$ ($CD11{\beta}$) and CD36. In addition, pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), were significantly reduced with NSF treatment. The NSF-mediated inhibition of inflammatory responses was due to the regulation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells ($NF-{\kappa}B$) and nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2). NSF effectively suppressed the translocation of $NF-{\kappa}B$ into the nucleus, while nuclear Nrf2 and its target protein, heme oxygenase-1, levels were significantly increased.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.688-696
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• 2018

This study aimed to investigate the effects of red ginseng-derived saponin fraction (SF) on lipid accumulation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)/Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) signaling during adipocyte differentiation. SF effectively inhibited lipid accumulation, with the downregulation of adipogenic factors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha ($C/EBP{\alpha}$). A high dose of SF decreased the protein levels of $PPAR{\gamma}$ and $C/EBP{\alpha}$ by over 90% compared to the control. SF-mediated downregulation of adipogenic factors was due to the regulation of early adipogenic factors including $C/EBP{\beta}$ and $Kr{\ddot{u}}ppel$-like Factor 2 (KLF2). In addition, SF ($200{\mu}g/mg$) decreased intracellular ROS generation by 40% during adipocyte differentiation. However, the SF significantly upregulated Nrf2 and its target proteins, hemoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NADPH dehydrogenase quinone 1 (NQO1). Furthermore, SF ($200{\mu}g/mg$) promoted the nuclear translocation of Nrf2. The SF-mediated reduction of lipid accumulation was associated with the regulation of the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.302-310
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• 2023

Background: The most common type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), is marked by the formation of extracellular amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques. The impairments of axons and synapses appear in the process of Aβ plaques formation, and this damage could cause neurodegeneration. We previously reported that non-saponin fraction with rich polysaccharide (NFP) from Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) showed neuroprotective effects in AD. However, precise molecular mechanism of the therapeutic effects of NFP from KRG in AD still remains elusive. Methods: To investigate the therapeutic mechanisms of NFP from KRG on AD, we conducted proteomic analysis for frontal cortex from vehicle-treated wild-type, vehicle-treated 5XFAD mice, and NFP-treated 5XFAD mice by using nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS. Metabolic network analysis was additionally performed as the effects of NFP appeared to be associated with metabolism according to the proteome analysis. Results: Starting from 5,470 proteins, 2,636 proteins were selected for hierarchical clustering analysis, and finally 111 proteins were further selected for protein-protein interaction network analysis. A series of these analyses revealed that proteins associated with synapse and mitochondria might be linked to the therapeutic mechanism of NFP. Subsequent metabolic network analysis via genome-scale metabolic models that represent the three mouse groups showed that there were significant changes in metabolic fluxes of mitochondrial carnitine shuttle pathway and mitochondrial beta-oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Conclusion: Our results suggested that the therapeutic effects of NFP on AD were associated with synaptic- and mitochondrial-related pathways, and they provided targets for further rigorous studies on precise understanding of the molecular mechanism of NFP.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.40-46
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• 1998

We investigated the influence of the root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer on the secretion of catecholamines from bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, which are used as a model of nervous systems. In two major parts extracted from the ginseng root, the crude saponin fraction, but not the non-saponin fraction, reduced the secretion from the cells, stimulated by acetylcholine (ACh). Ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) are classified into three groups, the panaxadiol, the panaxatriol and the oleanolic acid groups, on the basis of the chemical structures of their saponins. Both the panaxadiol and the panaxatriol saponins, excluding only one oleanolic acid saponin ginsenoside-Ro, generally reduced the ACh-evoked secretion. The inhibitory effects of the panaxatriol were much stronger than those of the panaxadiol. However, ginsenoside-Rg, and -Rh3 in the panaxadiol saponins were the potent inhibitors comparable to the panaxatriol saponins. Ginsenoside-Rg2 in the panaxatriol was the most effective. It is probable that the ginsenoside inhibition of the catecholamine secretion is due to the suppression of the function of the nicotinic ACh receptor-cation channels. On the other hand, ginsenoside-Rg2 did not affect the angiotensin II-, the bradykinin-, the histamine- and the neurotensin- induced catecholamine secretions from the chromaffin cells and the muscarine- and the histamine- induced contraction of the ileum in guinea-pigs. Ginsenoside-Rbl, a panaxadiol saponin, and ginsenoside-Ro had no or only a slight effect on them. On the contrary, ginsenoside-Rg3 not only competitively inhibited the muscarine-induced ileum contraction but also reduced the angiotensin R -, the bradykinin-, the histamine- and the neurotensin-induced catecholamine secretions. Thus, the ginseng root contains active ingredients, namely some ginsensides, which suppress the responses induced by receptor stimulation. The inhibitory effects of ginseng saponins may be one of the action mechanisms for the pharmacological effects of the Panax ginseng root.