Physicochemical characteristics and anti-oxidant activities of farm-cultivated and mountain-cultivated ginseng seeds

Comparative transcriptome analysis on wild-simulated ginseng of different age revealed possible mechanism of ginsenoside accumulation

Panax ginseng is one of the most famous pharmaceutical plants in Asia. Ginseng plants grown in mountain have longer longevity which ensures higher accumulation of ginsenoside components than those grown in farms. However, wild-simulated ginseng over certain age cannot be easily distinguished in morphology. To identify transcriptomic mechanism of ginsenoside accumulation in older wild-simulated ginseng without large phenotype change, we performed comparative transcriptome analysis for leaf, shoot, and root tissues of 7-yr-old and 13yr-old wild-simulated ginseng. Of 559 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in comparison between 7-yr-old and 13yr-old wild-simulated ginseng, 280 leaf-, 103 shoot-, and 164 root-mainly expressing genes were found to be changed in transcript level according to age. Functional analysis revealed that pentose-phosphate shunt and abscisic acid responsive genes were up-regulated in leaf tissues of 7-yr-old ginseng while defense responsive genes were up-regulated in root tissues of 13-yr-old ginseng. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that jasmonic acid responsive genes, ERDL6, and some UGTs were up-regulated in 13-yr-old ginseng in higher order lateral root tissues. These data suggest that bacterial stimulation in mountain region can enhance the expression of several genes which might support minor ginsenoside biosynthesis.

Investigation of the pharmacological effect and mechanism of mountain-cultivated ginseng and garden ginseng in cardiovascular diseases based on network pharmacology and zebrafish experiments

Ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mey) is a kind of perennial herb of the Panax genus in the Araliaceae family. The secondary metabolites of mountain-cultivated ginseng (MCG) and garden ginseng (GG) vary greatly due to their different growth environments. To date, the differences in their pharmacological effects on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and their clinical applications remain unclear. To distinguish between the components of MCG and GG, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was performed. Next, the relationship between the expression of metabolites and the categories of the sample were analyzed using supervised partial least squares discriminant analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. A network-based pharmacology approach was developed and applied to determine the underlying mechanism of different metabolites in CVD. In the present study, the role of MCG and GG in angiogenesis and their protective effects on damaged blood vessels in a vascular injury model of zebrafish were investigated. Using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS, 11 different metabolites between MCG and GG were identified. In addition, 149 common target genes associated with the metabolites and CVD were obtained; these targets were related to tumor protein P53, proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src, human ubiquitin-52 amino acid fusion protein, ubiquitin-40S ribosomal protein S27a, polyubiquitin B, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1, vascular endothelial growth factor A, glycose synthase kinase-3B, and coagulation factor II and were associated with the regulation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase-Akt signaling pathway, the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, and the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway, which play important roles in the curative effect in CVD treatment. Both types of ginseng can promote the growth of the subintestinal vessel plexus and protect injured intersegmental vessels through the HIF-1α/vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, MCG has a stronger impact than GG. This is the first time metabolomics and network pharmacology methods were combined to study the difference between MCG and GG on CVDs, which provides a significant theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of CVD with two kinds of ginseng.

Mountain ginseng inhibits skeletal muscle atrophy by decreasing muscle RING finger protein-1 and atrogin1 through forkhead box O3 in L6 myotubes

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Mountain ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) is a medicinal herb with immune effects, muscle damage protection and energy metabolism effects. However, the pharmacological role of mountain ginseng in dexamethasone (DEXA)-induced muscle atrophy through the forkhead box O (FOXO) family is not understood. Therefore, we hypothesized that mountain ginseng inhibits skeletal muscle atrophy by decreasing muscle RING finger protein-1 (MuRF1) and atrogin1 through FOXO3 in L6 myotubes.

METHODS

Rat myoblast (L6) cells or Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were exposed to DEXA and mountain ginseng. The expressions of muscle atrophy targets such as MuRF1, atrogin1, MyHC (myosin heavy chain), HSP90, p-Akt, Akt, p-ERK1/2, ERK, FOXO3a, FOXO1, myostatin, and follistatin were analyzed by using Western blot analysis or real-time PCR. The diameter of myotubes was measured. Recruitment of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) or FOXO3a was analyzed by performing a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay.

RESULTS

Mountain ginseng treatment reduced muscle weight loss and collagen deposition in DEXA-induced rats. Mountain ginseng treatment led to decreases in MuRF1, atrogin1, p-ERK1/2, FOXO3a, FOXO1, and myostatin. Also, mountain ginseng treatment led to increases in the diameter of myotubes, MyHC, HSP90, p-Akt, and follistatin. Treatment with mountain ginseng reduced enrichment of GR, FOXO3a, and RNA polymerase II on the promoters.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that mountain ginseng inhibits skeletal muscle atrophy by decreasing MuRF1 and atrogin1 through FOXO3a in L6 myotubes.

Recent progress in polysaccharides from Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer

Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (P. ginseng) has a long history of medicinal use and can treat a variety of diseases. P. ginseng contains a variety of active ingredients, such as saponins, polypeptides, volatile oils, and polysaccharides. Among them, saponins have always been considered as the main components responsible for its pharmacological activities. However, more and more studies have shown that polysaccharides play an indispensable role in the medicinal value of ginseng. Modern biological and medical studies have found that ginseng polysaccharides have complex structural characteristics and diverse biological activities, such as immune regulation, anti-tumor, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and anti-radiation functions, among others. Additionally, the structural characteristics of ginseng polysaccharides are closely related to their activity. In this review, the research background, extraction, purification, structural characteristics, and biological activities of ginseng polysaccharides from different parts of P. ginseng (roots, flowers stems and leaves, and berries) under different growth conditions (artificially cultivated ginseng, mountain ginseng, and wild ginseng) are summarized. The structural characteristics of purified polysaccharides were reviewed. Meanwhile, their biological activities were introduced, and some possible mechanisms were listed. Furthermore, the structure-activity relationship of polysaccharides was discussed. Some research perspectives for the study of ginseng polysaccharides were also provided.