Comparing eight types of ginsenosides in ginseng of different plant ages and regions using RRLC-Q-TOF MS/MS

APMCG-1 attenuates ischemic stroke injury by reducing oxidative stress and apoptosis and promoting angiogenesis via activating PI3K/AKT pathway

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Beyond thrombolysis, strategies targeting anti-oxidative apoptosis and angiogenesis are considered prospective therapeutic strategies. Nevertheless, existing natural and clinical remedies have limited efficacy in the management of IS. Moreover, despite their millennial legacy of IS remediation, natural remedies such as ginseng incur high production costs. The novel glycopeptide APMCG-1, extracted from mountain-cultivated ginseng dregs in our previous study, is a potent therapeutic candidate for IS. This study investigated APMCG-1's remedial mechanisms against IS injury using an H2O2-induced oxidative stress paradigm in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) emulating ischemic endothelial cells, in a ponatinib-induced zebrafish IS model, and in rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) prototypes. Cellular assays confirmed the proficiency of APMCG-1 in preventing oxidative stress and cell death, fostering regeneration, and facilitating neovascularization within the H2O2-stressed HUVECs framework. Moreover, APMCG-1 augmented hemodynamic velocity, oxidative stress mitigation, apoptosis reduction, and motor enhancement in a zebrafish model of IS. In MCAO rats, APMCG-1 ameliorated neurological deficits and cerebral injury, as evidenced by increased neurological scores and diminished infarct dimensions. In cells and animal models, APMCG-1 activated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, modulating factors such as Nrf2, Bcl-2, Caspase 3, eNOS, and VEGFA, thereby ameliorating cellular oxidative distress and catalyzing angiogenesis. Collectively, these results demonstrate the potential protective effects of APMCG-1 in IS pharmacotherapy and its prospective utility as an herbal-derived IS treatment modality.

Untargeted Metabolomics and Soil Community Metagenomics Analyses Combined with Machine Learning Evaluation Uncover Geographic Differences in Ginseng from Different Locations

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, known as the "King of Herbs," has been used as a nutritional supplement for both food and medicine with the functions of relieving fatigue and improving immunity for thousands of years in China. In agricultural planting, soil environments of different geographical origins lead to obvious differences in the quality of ginseng, but the potential mechanism of the differences remains unclear. In this study, 20 key differential metabolites, including ginsenoside Rb1, glucose 6-phosphate, etc., were found in ginseng from 10 locations in China using an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS)-untargeted metabolomics approach. The soil properties were analyzed and combined with metagenomics technology to explore the possible relationships among microbial elements in planting soil. Through Spearman correlation analysis, it was found that the top 10 microbial colonies with the highest abundance in the soil were significantly correlated with key metabolites. In addition, the relationship model established by the random forest algorithm and the quantitative relationship between soil microbial abundance and ginseng metabolites were successfully predicted. The XGboost model was used to determine 20(R)-ginseng Rg2 and 2'(R)-ginseng Rg3 as feature labeled metabolites, and the optimal ginseng production area was discovered. These results prove that the accumulation of metabolites in ginseng was influenced by microorganisms in the planting soil, which led to geographical differences in ginseng quality.

Rapid and non-destructive identification of Panax ginseng origins using hyperspectral imaging, visible light imaging, and X-ray imaging combined with multi-source data fusion strategies

The geographical origin of Panax ginseng significantly influences its nutritional value and chemical composition, which in turn affects its market price. Traditional methods for analyzing these differences are often time-consuming and require substantial quantities of reagents, rendering them inefficient. Therefore, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in conjunction with X-ray technology were used for the swift and non-destructive traceability of Panax ginseng origin. Initially, outlier samples were effectively rejected by employing a combined isolated forest algorithm and density peak clustering (DPC) algorithm. Subsequently, random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) classification models were constructed using hyperspectral spectral data. These models were further optimized through the application of 72 preprocessing methods and their combinations. Additionally, to enhance the model's performance, four variable screening algorithms were employed: SelectKBest, genetic algorithm (GA), least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and permutation feature importance (PFI). The optimized model, utilizing second derivative, auto scaling, permutation feature importance, and support vector machine (2nd Der-AS-PFI-SVM), achieved a prediction accuracy of 93.4 %, a Kappa value of 0.876, a Brier score of 0.030, an F1 score of 0.932, and an AUC of 0.994 on an independent prediction set. Moreover, the image data (including color information and texture information) extracted from color and X-ray images were used to construct classification models and evaluate their performance. Among them, the SVM model constructed using texture information from X -ray images performed the best, and it achieved a prediction accuracy of 63.0 % on the validation set, with a Brier score of 0.181, an F1 score of 0.518, and an AUC of 0.553. By implementing mid-level fusion and high-level data fusion based on the Stacking strategy, it was found that the model employing a high-level fusion of hyperspectral spectral information and X-ray images texture information significantly outperformed the model using only hyperspectral spectral information. This advanced model attained a prediction accuracy of 95.2 %, a Kappa value of 0.912, a Brier score of 0.027, an F1 score of 0.952, and an AUC of 0.997 on the independent prediction set. In summary, this study not only provides a novel technical path for fast and non-destructive traceability of Panax ginseng origin, but also demonstrates the great potential of the combined application of HSI and X-ray technology in the field of traceability of both medicinal and food products.

Fully connected-convolutional (FC-CNN) neural network based on hyperspectral images for rapid identification of P. ginseng growth years

P. ginseng is a precious traditional Chinese functional food, which is used for both medicinal and food purposes, and has various effects such as immunomodulation, anti-tumor and anti-oxidation. The growth year of P. ginseng has an important impact on its medicinal and economic values. Fast and nondestructive identification of the growth year of P. ginseng is crucial for its quality evaluation. In this paper, we propose a FC-CNN network that incorporates spectral and spatial features of hyperspectral images to characterize P. ginseng from different growth years. The importance ranking of the spectra was obtained using the random forest method for optimal band selection. Based on the hyperspectral reflectance data of P. ginseng after radiometric calibration and the images of the best five VNIR bands and five SWIR bands selected, the year-by-year identification of P. ginseng age and its identification experiments for food and medicinal purposes were conducted, and the FC-CNN network and its FCNN and CNN branch networks were tested and compared in terms of their effectiveness in the identification of P. ginseng growth years. It has been experimentally verified that the best year-by-year recognition was achieved by utilizing images from five visible and near-infrared important bands and all spectral curves, and the recognition accuracy of food and medicinal use reached 100%. The FC-CNN network is significantly better than its branching model in the effect of edible and medicinal identification. The results show that for P. ginseng growth year identification, VNIR images have much more useful information than SWIR images. Meanwhile, the FC-CNN network utilizing the spectral and spatial features of hyperspectral images is an effective method for the identification of P. ginseng growth year.

Application of Band-Selective HSQC NMR in Species Discrimination and Adulteration Identification of Panax Linn

The quality of Panax Linn products available in the market is threatened by adulteration with different Panax species, such as Panax quinquefolium (PQ), Panax ginseng (PG), and Panax notoginseng (PN). In this paper, we established a 2D band-selective heteronuclear single quantum coherence (bs-HSQC) NMR method to discriminate species and detect adulteration of Panax Linn. The method involves selective excitation of the anomeric carbon resonance region of saponins and non-uniform sampling (NUS) to obtain high-resolution spectra in less than 10 min. The combined strategy overcomes the signal overlap limitation in ¹H NMR and the long acquisition time in traditional HSQC. The present results showed that twelve well-separated resonance peaks can be assigned in the bs-HSQC spectra, which are of high resolution, good repeatability, and precision. Notably, the identification accuracy of species was found to be 100% for all tests conducted in the present study. Furthermore, in combination with multivariate statistical methods, the proposed method can effectively determine the composition proportion of adulterants (from 10% to 90%). Based on the PLS-DA models, the identification accuracy was greater than 80% when composition proportion of adulterants was 10%. Thus, the proposed method may provide a fast, practical, and effective analysis technique for food quality control or authenticity identification.

Molecular Docking and Dynamics Simulation Studies of Ginsenosides with SARS-CoV-2 Host and Viral Entry Protein Targets

Despite the contemporary advancements in the field of science and medicine, combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is extremely challenging in many aspects as the virus keeps spreading and mutating rapidly. As there is no effective and conclusive drug therapy to date, it is crucial to explore plant-based natural compounds for their potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Recent research highly focuses on screening various phytochemicals to elucidate their anti-viral efficacy. However, very few studies were published investigating the anti-viral efficacy of ginsenosides. Hence, the main aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory potential of the available 122 ginsenosides from Panax ginseng against SARS-CoV-2-related proteins using a molecular docking and molecular dynamics approach. The major bioactive compounds “ginsenosides” of P. ginseng were docked to six vital SAR-CoV-2 host entry-related proteins such as ACE2, Spike RBD, ACE2 and Spike RBD complex, Spike (pre-fused), Spike (post-fused), and HR domain, with lowest binding energies of −9.5 kcal/mol, −8.1 kcal/mol, −10.4 kcal/mol, −10.4 kcal/mol, −9.3 kcal/mol, and −8.2 kcal/mol, respectively. Almost all the ginsenosides have shown low binding energies and were found to be favourable for efficient docking and resultant inhibition of the viral proteins. However, ACE2 has shown the highest interaction capability. Hence, the top five ginsenosides with the highest binding energy with ACE2 were subjected to MD, post MD analysis, and MM/PBSA calculations. MD simulation results have shown higher stability, flexibility, and mobility of the selected compounds. Additionally, MM-PBSA also affirms the docking results. The results obtained from this study have provided highly potential candidates for developing natural inhibitors against COVID-19.

Rapid Discrimination and Prediction of Ginsengs from Three Origins Based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS Combined with SVM

Ginseng, which contains abundant ginsenosides, grows mainly in the Jilin, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang in China. It has been reported that the quality and traits of ginsengs from different origins were greatly different. To date, the accurate prediction of the origins of ginseng samples is still a challenge. Here, we integrated ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) with a support vector machine (SVM) for rapid discrimination and prediction of ginseng from the three main regions where it is cultivated in China. Firstly, we develop a stable and reliable UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS method to obtain robust information for 31 batches of ginseng samples after reasonable optimization. Subsequently, a rapid pre-processing method was established for the rapid screening and identification of 69 characteristic ginsenosides in 31 batches ginseng samples from three different origins. The SVM model successfully distinguished ginseng origin, and the accuracy of SVM model was improved from 83% to 100% by optimizing the normalization method. Six crucial quality markers for different origins of ginseng were screened using a permutation importance algorithm in the SVM model. In addition, in order to validate the method, eight batches of test samples were used to predict the regions of cultivation of ginseng using the SVM model based on the six selected quality markers. As a result, the proposed strategy was suitable for the discrimination and prediction of the origin of ginseng samples.

Analysis of Key Chemical Components in Aqueous Extract Sediments of Panax Ginseng at Different Ages

Panax ginseng beverages have been some of the most popular plant drinks among consumers in recent years, but they become turbid and sediment are easily formed during production and marketing, these are some of the key issues that affect the quality of the beverages. In this study, we analysed the physicochemical properties of sediments in aqueous extracts of 3- to 6-year-old ginseng, and by tracing the sediment formation process from 0-40 days, we observed that the sediment was gradually beginning on day 10. The solid content of ginseng aged 5 and 6 years was significantly higher than that of ginseng aged 3 and 4 years. There was no significant difference in the sediment amount sediment in the extracts of ginseng of different ages. The light transmittance of the extracts after centrifugation was significantly higher than before centrifugation. Colour-difference analysis found that there was a significant positive correlation between ginseng age and colour-difference value (ΔE). Chemical composition analysis showed that total sugar and proteins were the main components of the sediment. In addition, ginsenosides, amino acids and minerals were also involved in sediment formation to different degrees. A stepwise regression model was established through principal component analysis (PCA), and the regression equation for predicting the sediment amount was obtained as follows: sediment amount (mg/mL) = 2.906 - 0.126 × C_{Total saponins} - 0.131 × C_{Free amino acids}.

Advances and challenges in ginseng research from 2011 to 2020: the phytochemistry, quality control, metabolism, and biosynthesis

Covering: 2011 to the end of 2020Panax species (Araliaceae), particularly P. ginseng, P. quinquefolius, and P. notoginseng, have a long history of medicinal use because of their remarkable tonifying effects, and currently serve as crucial sources for various healthcare products, functional foods, and cosmetics, aside from their vast clinical preparations. The huge market demand on a global scale prompts the continuous prosperity in ginseng research concerning the discovery of new compounds, precise quality control, ADME (absorption/disposition/metabolism/excretion), and biosynthesis pathways. Benefitting from the ongoing rapid development of analytical technologies, e.g. multi-dimensional chromatography (MDC), personalized mass spectrometry (MS) scan strategies, and multi-omics, highly recognized progress has been made in driving ginseng analysis towards "systematicness, integrity, personalization, and intelligentization". Herein, we review the advances in the phytochemistry, quality control, metabolism, and biosynthesis pathway of ginseng over the past decade (2011-2020), with 410 citations. Emphasis is placed on the introduction of new compounds isolated (saponins and polysaccharides), and the emerging novel analytical technologies and analytical strategies that favor ginseng's authentic use and global consumption. Perspectives on the challenges and future trends in ginseng analysis are also presented.

Biotransformation of Ginsenosides (Rb1 , Rb2 , Rb3 , Rc) in Human Intestinal Bacteria and Its Effect on Intestinal Flora

Ginsenosides, including Rb₁ , Rb₂ , Rb₃ and Rc, belong to protopanaxadiol-type saponins in Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. Their contents are high in P. ginseng. They could inhibit oxidant stress, enhance immunity, lower blood sugar, resist tumor cells and facilitate other physiological activities. This study aimed to explore the interaction between ginsenosides Rb₁ , Rb₂ , Rb₃ and Rc and the intestinal flora of healthy people. It also sought to analyse the biotransformation products and pathways of these ginsenosides in in-vitro human intestinal bacteria and their effects on the diversity of human intestinal flora. Human intestinal bacteria were incubated with ginsenosides Rb₁ , Rb₂ , Rb₃ and Rc at 37 °C under anaerobic conditions. Samples were taken at different timepoints. The transformed products were identified by rapid high-resolution liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. After 48 h of transformation, the transformed product of ginsenosides Rb₁ , Rb₂ , Rb₃ and Rc was ginsenoside compound K. The transformation rates were 83.5 %, 88.7 %, 85.6 %, and 84.2 %. 16S rRNA sequencing technology was applied to the bioinformatic analysis of faecal samples incubated for 48 h. Relative to the blank control, the relative abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria significantly increased at the phylum level. Moreover, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes significantly decreased in ginsenosides Rb₁ , Rb₂ , Rb₃ and Rc. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Escherichia significantly increased, whereas that of Dorea, Prevotella and Megasphaera significantly decreased in all groups. These results showed that Rb₁ , Rb₂ , Rb₃ and Rc could improve the structure and diversity of human intestinal flora and balance the metabolic process.

Comprehensive Quality Evaluation of American Ginseng for Different Parts and Abnormal Trait Based on the Major Ginsenoside Contents and Morphological Characteristics

The demand for American ginseng, a famous traditional medicine and high-grade healthy food, has increased dramatically over recent years. However, only the main root is popular among consumers, whereas other parts of American ginseng are rarely available in the market. In this study, the contents of 5 major ginsenosides (Re, Rc, Rg₁, Rd, and Rb₁) were determined through high-performance liquid chromatography. Our study showed that all these 5 major ginsenosides are found in different parts of American ginseng plants, and the total content in different parts varied significantly in the following order: fibrous root > flower > branch root > main root > leaf > stem. Interestingly, the total content in the fibrous root was approximately 2.24 times higher than that in the main root. Further research indicated that the ginsenoside content in American ginseng with abnormal characteristics (physical deformity caused by disease and discolouration) is similar to that in the normal plant. Interestingly, a positive correlation was observed between the main root diameter and total ginsenoside content, whereas a negative correlation was observed between the main root length and total ginsenoside content. Our comprehensive study revealed that all parts of American ginseng, including the main root with abnormal characteristics, possess medicinal or economic value. Therefore, our results provide feasible evidence to further explore the potential application of American ginseng.

Low Molecular Weight Oligosaccharide from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer against UV-Mediated Apoptosis and Inhibits Tyrosinase Activity In Vitro and In Vivo

To find new anti-UV and whitening agents, 21 fractions isolated from three preparations of ginseng (white, red, and black ginseng) were screened, and their antioxidant effects on AAPH- or H₂O₂-induced damage were investigated. Furthermore, the protective effect against UV-mediated apoptosis and the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the targeted fractions were evaluated in vitro and in a zebrafish model. Among all fractions, F10 from white ginseng was selected as having the strongest anti-UV and antimelanogenesis activities. This fraction exhibited excellent inhibitory effects on the pigmentation of zebrafish, which may be due to its potential tyrosinase inhibitory activity. Additionally, the chemical composition of F10 was evaluated by UPLC-MS and NMR instruments. The results indicated that F10 had a carbohydrate content of more than 76%, and the weight-average molecular weight was approximately 239 Da. Disaccharide sucrose was the main active compound in F10. These results suggest that F10 could be used as an ingredient for whitening cosmetics and regarded as an anti-UV filter in the future.

Fucoxanthin-rich fraction from Sargassum fusiformis alleviates particulate matter-induced inflammation in vitro and in vivo

Particulate matter (PM) contributes to air pollution and primarily originates from unregulated industrial emissions and seasonal natural dust emissions. Fucoxanthin (Fx) is a marine natural pigment from brown macroalgae that has been shown to have various beneficial effects on health. However, the effects of Fx on PM-induced toxicities in cells and animals have not been assessed. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory potential of the Fx-rich fraction (FxRF) of Sargassum fusiformis against PM-mediated inflammatory responses. The FxRF composition was analyzed by rapid-resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Fx and other main pigments were identified. FxRF attenuated the production of inflammatory components, including prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 from PM-exposed HaCaT keratinocytes. PM exposure also reduced the levels of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and PGE2 in PM-exposed RAW264.7 macrophages. Additionally, the culture medium from PM-exposed HaCaT cells induced upregulation of NO, iNOS, PGE2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines in RAW264.7 macrophages. FxRF also significantly decreased the expression levels of factors involved in inflammatory responses, such as NO, reactive oxygen species, and cell death, in PM-exposed zebrafish embryos. These results demonstrated the potential protective effects of FxRF against PM-induced inflammation both in vitro and in a zebrafish model.

Characterization and anti-tumor activity of saponin-rich fractions of South Korean sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus)

In this study, the saponin-rich fractions of five individual (two Red and three Black) sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus) in South Korea were investigated for their antiproliferative effect against HL-60, B16F10, MCF-7, and Hep3B tumor cell lines. The red sea cucumber saponin-rich fraction (SSC) from Jeju Island (JRe) decreased the growth of HL-60 with an IC50 value of 23.55 ± 3.40 μg/mL, which represented the strongest anticancer activity among the extracts. Further, SSC downregulated B-cell lymphoma extra-large (Bcl-xL), while upregulating, to different degrees, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), caspase-9, caspase-3, PARP cleavage, and apoptotic bodies in cancer cells. Evidence for SSC inducing apoptosis via the mitochondria-mediated pathway was found. The contents of SSCs were determined using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry to comparatively evaluate the regional influence. In West Sea, the total SSC content of A. japonicus was 15.5 mg/g, representing the highest content, while A. japonicus in the South Sea yielded the lowest content at 8 mg/g. The major saponin constituent in SSC was identified as Holotoxin A1, which may the anti-tumor compound in A. japonicus.

Application of Identification and Evaluation Techniques for Ethnobotanical Medicinal Plant of Genus Panax: A Review

Genus Panax, as worldwide medicinal plants, has a medical history for thousands of years. Most of the entire genus are traditional ethnobotanical medicine in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, which have given rise to international attention and use. This paper reviewed more than 210 articles and related books on the research of Panax medicinal plants and their Chinese patent medicines published in the last 30 years. The purpose was to review and summarize the species classification, geographical distribution, and ethnic minorities medicinal records of the genus Panax, and further to review the analytical tools and data analysis methods for the authentication and quality assessment of Panax medicinal materials and Chinese patent medicines. Five main technologies applied in the identification and evaluation of Panax have been introduced and summarized. Chromatography was the most widely used one. Further research and development of molecular identification technology had the potential to become a mainstream identification technology. In addition, some novel, controversial, and worthy methods including electronic noses, electronic eyes, and DNA barcoding were also introduced. At the same time, more than 80% of the researches were carried out by a combination of chemometric pattern-recognition technologies and multi-analysis technologies. All the technologies and methods applied can provide strong support and guarantee for the identification and evaluation of genus Panax, and also conduce to excellent reference value for the development and in-depth research of new technologies in Panax.

Reactive Gliosis Contributes to Nrf2-Dependent Neuroprotection by Pretreatment with Dimethyl Fumarate or Korean Red Ginseng Against Hypoxic-Ischemia: Focus on Hippocampal Injury

Recently, dimethyl fumarate (DMF) and Korean red ginseng (ginseng), based on their purported antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, have exhibited protective potential in various neurological conditions. Their effects on cerebral ischemia and underlying mechanisms remain inconclusive; however, increasing evidence indicates the involvement of the transcriptional factor Nrf2. This study evaluated the preventive effects of DMF and ginseng on hippocampal neuronal damage following hypoxia-ischemia (HI) and assessed the contributions of reactive gliosis and the Nrf2 pathway. Adult wild type (WT) and Nrf2-/- mice were pretreated with DMF or ginseng for 7 days prior to HI. At 24 h after HI, DMF or ginseng significantly reduced infarct volume (52.5 ± 12.3% and 47.8 ± 10.7%), brain edema (61.5 ± 17.4% and 39.3 ± 12.8%), and hippocampal CA1 neuronal degeneration, and induced expressions of Nrf2 target proteins in WT, but not Nrf2-/-, mice. Such hippocampal neuroprotective benefits were also observed at 6 h and 7 days after HI. The dynamic attenuation of reactive gliosis in microglia and astrocytes correlated well with this sustained neuroprotection in an Nrf2-dependent manner. In both early and late stages of HI, astrocytic dysfunctions in extracellular glutamate clearance and water transport, as indicated by glutamine synthetase and aquaporin 4, were also attenuated after HI in WT, but not Nrf2-/-, mice treated with DMF or ginseng. Together, DMF and ginseng confer robust and prolonged Nrf2-dependent neuroprotection against ischemic hippocampal damage. The salutary Nrf2-dependent attenuation of reactive gliosis may contribute to this neuroprotection, offering new insight into the cellular basis of an Nrf2-targeting strategy for stroke prevention or treatment.