Sang-Hyun Sohn

Panax ginseng reduces oxidative stress and restores antioxidant capacity in aged rats

Nutritional antioxidants interact with cells in an active mode, including retrieving and sparing one another, to diminish oxidative stress. However, the intracellular balance of prooxidants and antioxidants becomes unbalanced, favoring prooxidants during the aging process. One hypothesis is that an aging-associated increase in oxidative stress is the primary cause of aging. Hence, the research hypothesis for this study is that Korean red ginseng reduces oxidative stress in vivo. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of Korean red ginseng water extract (GWE) in reducing aging-associated oxidative stress by measuring lipid peroxidation and antioxidant levels in older rats compared with young rats. We observed a significant increase in the markers for oxidative damage (eg, lipid peroxidation) and markers for vital organ damage (eg, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, urea, and creatinine levels) in aged rats. The oxidative damage was accompanied by a significant decrease in enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione-S-transferase, and nonenzymatic antioxidants such as reduced glutathione, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Aged rats fed a diet supplemented with Korean red ginseng water extract had significantly less oxidative damage, possibly by enhancing the enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants status. Our data suggest that consumption of Korean red ginseng reduces lipid peroxidation and restores antioxidant capacity by suppressing oxidative stress in rats.

Korean red ginseng attenuates hypercholesterolemia‐enhanced platelet aggregation through suppression of diacylglycerol liberation in high‐cholesterol‐diet‐fed rabbits

Intake of Korean red ginseng (KRG, ginseng Radix rubra), rich in glycosylated saponins (ginsenosides), has been known to inhibit platelet aggregation in the normocholesterolemic condition. However, it is unclear whether KRG can attenuate hypercholesterolemia‐enhanced platelet aggregation. This study examined whether the daily consumption of a KRG‐water extract (WE) could prevent the hypercholesterolemia‐enhanced platelet aggregation and progression of hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis. KRG‐WE administration (200 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks potently inhibited the platelet aggregation induced by low doses of agonists (0.5 µg/mL collagen and 0.025 unit/mL thrombin), whereas it weakly reduced the blood‐cholesterol levels and formation of atheromatous lesions. In further investigation, KRG‐WE significantly suppressed collagen‐induced 1,2‐diacylglycerol liberation, but had no significant effect on arachidonic acid liberation. Taken together, it can be suggested that the antiplatelet effect of KRG‐WE may, at least partly, be due to the inhibition of 1,2‐diacylglycerol generation rather than regulation of blood lipid levels. In conclusion, daily consumption of KRG‐WE could be a useful alternative measure for the prevention of thrombus and atheroma formation in hypercholesterolemia. Copyright

A comparison of antioxidant activity of Korean White and Red Ginsengs on H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 hepatoma cells.

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the preventive effect of Korean White Ginseng and Red Ginseng on oxidative stress in H2O2-treated HepG2 cells. The roots of ginseng were extracted with 70% methanol and partitioned with butanol to obtain saponin fractions, which have been known as bioactive constituents of ginseng. 2′,7′-Dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCF-DA) assay and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were measured for evaluating intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Also, mRNA expressions and activities of antioxidant enzymes were analyzed to determine the antioxidant activity of saponin or non-saponin fractions of ginsengs. According to DCF-DA assay, H2O2-induced MDA release and ROS generation were significantly reduced by treatment with saponin fractions of white and red ginseng roots. Also, saponin fractions increased effectively intracellular antioxidant enzyme activities including catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase in H2O2- treated HepG2 hepatoma cells. In general, red ginseng was more effective than white ginseng for reducing oxidative stress. These results indicate that administration of red ginseng may certainly contribute relatively stronger than white ginseng to prevent from damaging liver function by oxidative stress.

HPLC-based metabolic profiling and quality control of leaves of different Panax species

Leaves from Panax ginseng Meyer (Korean origin and Chinese origin of Korean ginseng) and P. quinquefolius (American ginseng) were harvested in Haenam province, Korea, and were analyzed to investigate patterns in major metabolites using HPLC-based metabolic profiling. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was used to analyze the HPLC chromatogram data. There was a clear separation between Panax species and/or origins from different countries in the PLS-DA score plots. The ginsenoside compounds of Rg1, Re, Rg2, Rb2, Rb3, and Rd in Korean leaves were higher than in Chinese and American ginseng leaves, and the Rb1 level in P. quinquefolius leaves was higher than in P. ginseng (Korean origin or Chinese origin). HPLC chromatogram data coupled with multivariate statistical analysis can be used to profile the metabolite content and undertake quality control of Panax products.

Korean Red Ginseng Up-regulates C21-Steroid Hormone Metabolism via Cyp11a1 Gene in Senescent Rat Testes

Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been shown to have anti-aging effects in animal and clinical studies. However, the molecular mechanisms by which ginseng exerts these effects remain unknown. Here, the anti-aging effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) in rat testes was examined by system biology analysis. KRG water extract prepared in feed pellets was administered orally into 12 month old rats for 4 months, and gene expression in testes was determined by microarray analysis. Microarray analysis identified 33 genes that significantly changed. Compared to the 2 month old young rats, 13 genes (Rps9, Cyp11a1, RT1-A2, LOC365778, Sv2b, RGD1565959, RGD1304748, etc.) were up-regulated and 20 genes (RT1-Db1, Cldn5, Svs5, Degs1, Vdac3, Hbb, LOC684355, Svs5, Tmem97, Orai1, Insl3, LOC497959, etc.) were down-regulated by KRG in the older rats. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of untreated aged rats versus aged rats treated with KRG showed that the affected most was Cyp11a1, responsible for C21-steroid hormone metabolism, and the top molecular and cellular functions are organ morphology and reproductive system development and function. When genes in young rat were compared with those in the aged rat, sperm capacitation related genes were down-regulated in the old rat. However, when genes in the old rat were compared with those in the old rat treated with KRG, KRG treatment up-regulated C21-steroid hormone metabolism. Taken together, Cyp11a1 expression is decreased in the aged rat, however, it is up-regulated by KRG suggesting that KRG seems enhance testes function via Cyp11a1.

Anti-inflammatory Effects of Water Extract of Eucommia ulmoides OLIVER on the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 Cells

【Eucommia ulmoides OLIVER (EU) is a traditional Korean herbal used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the present study, the molecular pharmacology basis of its anti-inflammatory effect is revealed in this work, EU was studied in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophage cells (RAW 264.7) as an established inflammation model. After activation, nitric oxide (NO) production and iNOS mRNA were measured by using a colorimetric assay (Griess reagent), and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. The change in the content of

Effect of long-term administration of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris on testicular function in middle-aged rats.

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Anti-inflammatory activity of the active components from the roots of Cosmos bipinnatus in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages.

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Cordycepin (3′-deoxyadenosine) attenuates age-related oxidative stress and ameliorates antioxidant capacity in rats

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Panax ginseng Improves Senile Testicular Function in Rats

, and IL-6 was concurrently monitored by ELISA. In results, we found that in the concentration range without showing cytotoxicity, EU produced a remarkable anti-inflammatory effect and showed a dose-dependent inhibition of LPSinduced NO production. Compared with indomethacin, EU has more potency and a specific action of NO inhibition,