| Research Abstract |
The aim of this study is to scientifically prove the pharmacological effect of ginseng root on nervous, endocrine and immune systems.
1.In the representative each group of ginseng saponins (the panaxadiol, the panaxatriol and the oleanolic saponins), the panaxatriol saponin ginsenoside-Rg_2 was a potent, selective bolocker of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. On the other hand, the panaxadiol saponin ginsenoside-Rg_3 seemed to be antagonists for various receptors, while the oleanolic saponin ginsenoside-Ro did not affect them.
2.The inhibitory properties of ginsenoside-Rg_3 that strongly inhibited acetylcholine-induced catecholamine secretion from bovine adrenal chromaffin cells as a model of nervous systems exceptionally in the panaxadiol saponins was similar to those of ginsenoside-Rg_2, indicating that ginsenoside-Rg_3 as well as -Rg_2 inhibited the secretion due to the blockade of NA^+ influx through nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-operated cation channels.
3.There was the relationship between the inhibitory effects and the structures of ginseng saponins and the effect is a unique property for ginsenosides.
4.The saponin fraction suppressed the cortisol synthesis in adrenal fasciculata cells as a model of endocrine systems.
Furthermore, we are investigating the effects of ginseng root on polysaccharide-induced cytokine production in lymphocytes and the anti-stress action of ginseng root and ginsenosides in vivo.
|
