Effects of Red or Black Ginseng Extract in a Rat Model of Inflammatory Temporomandibular Joint Pain / 치위생과학회지

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain is characterized by persistent jaw pain associated with dysfunction and tenderness of the temporomandibular muscles and joints. The aim of this study was to investigate whether treatment with red or black ginseng extract helps in the modulation of inflammatory TMJ pain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 220~260 g were used. The experimental group was subdivided into 4 groups based on the treatment method (n=6, each group): formalin (5%, 30 µl), formalin after distilled water (vehicle), formalin after red or black ginseng extract (per oral, single or repeated, respectively). To induce TMJ pain, 30 µl of formalin was injected into the articular cavity under ether inhalation anesthesia. The number of noxious behavioral responses of scratching the facial region proximal to the injection site was recorded for 9 successive 5-min intervals following formalin injection. Repeated treatment with red or black ginseng extract reduced the nociceptive responses in the second phase (11~45 min). Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an oxidative stress-mediated transcription factor. Both ginsengs significantly down-regulated the increased Nrf2 level compared to the vehicle group. In the test for liver and kidney functions, repeated treatment with red or black ginseng was not different compared to the vehicle group. These results indicate that red and black ginseng extract might be promising analgesic agents in the treatment of inflammatory TMJ pain.

Simultaneous Determination of Four Kinds of Rare Saponins in Black Ginseng by HPLC / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To establish an HPLC method for determining four kinds of rare saponins, ie, 20(S)-Rg3, 20(R)-Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5 in black ginseng. METHODS: COSMOSIL C18-PAQ (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) column was used and temperature was maintained at 30℃. Gradient elution was conducted using mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water at a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min-1. The detection wavelength was set at 203 nm. The injected sample volume was 10 μL. RESULTS: Good resolution was achieved for the four rare saponins in the ranges of 0.051-0.256 (r=0.999 9), 0.009-0.280(r=0.999 7), 0.051-0.303(r=0.999 9) and 0.093-0.279 mg·mL-1(r=0.999 9) for 20(S)-Rg3, 20(R)-Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5, respectively. The corresponding average recovery rates were 103.9%, 99.2%, 97.0%, and 100.6%, and the standard deviations were 0.71%, 0.73%, 1.97%, and 0.57%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The method is accurate, simple, reliable and reproducible for the determination of saponins in black ginseng. The determination result can be used as a reference for the rational medication, quality control, and further study of black ginseng.

The Protective Effect of Black Ginseng Against Transient Focal Ischemia-induced Neuronal Damage in Rats

Black ginseng (BG) has been widely used as herbal treatment for improving physiological function. In order to investigate the neuroprotective action of this herbal medicine, we examined the influence of BG on the learning and memory of rats using the Morris water maze, and we studied the effects of BG on the central cholinergic system and neural nitric oxide synthesis in the hippocampus of rats with neuronal and cognitive impairment. After middle cerebral artery occlusion was applied for 2h, the rats were administered BG (100 or 400 mgkg(-1), p.o.) daily for 2 weeks, followed by training and performance of the Morris water maze test. The rats with ischemic insults showed impaired learning and memory on the tasks. Treatment with BG produced improvement in the escape latency to find the platform. Further, the BG groups showed a reduced loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive neurons in the hippocampus compared to that of the ISC group. These results demonstrated that BG has a protective effect against ischemia-induced neuronal and cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that BG might be useful for the treatment of vascular dementia.

Enhancement of Exercise Capacity by Black Ginseng Extract in Rats / 한국실험동물학회지

This study was carried out to investigate an enhancing effect of black ginseng extract (BGE) on exercise capacity in an endurance exercising animal model. Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to 5 experimental groups including non-training control, training control, and 3 treated groups (BGE at doses of 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg). The animals were treated with BGE for 6 weeks and their exercise ability in the maximal running distance test was determined using a treadmill every week. The blood lactic acid (LA) level and the activity of citrate synthase (CS) in the muscle were also measured after the exercise. The levels of glucose and glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) in the liver and muscle were determined using commercial assay kits. BGE treatments at the doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg significantly increased the exercise capacity compared with the non-training control or training control groups (P<0.05). The level of blood LA was decreased but the activity of CS was increased by the treatment of BGE at the dose of 300 mg/kg compared with the training control group. The level of G-6-P in the liver was elevated by the treatment of BGE at the dose of 300 mg/kg, compared to the training group. As compared with non-training control group, the treatments of BGE increased the levels of glucose and G-6-P in the liver and soleus muscle of rats. These results indicate that BGE have a potential for promoting exercise capacity by increasing CS activity in the muscle and decreasing LA in the serum of rats. These results also suggested that BGE can be used as a candidate supplement of health food products for promoting endurance exercise capacity in human athletes.

Enhancement of Exercise Capacity by Black Ginseng Extract in Rats / 한국실험동물학회지

This study was carried out to investigate an enhancing effect of black ginseng extract (BGE) on exercise capacity in an endurance exercising animal model. Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to 5 experimental groups including non-training control, training control, and 3 treated groups (BGE at doses of 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg). The animals were treated with BGE for 6 weeks and their exercise ability in the maximal running distance test was determined using a treadmill every week. The blood lactic acid (LA) level and the activity of citrate synthase (CS) in the muscle were also measured after the exercise. The levels of glucose and glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) in the liver and muscle were determined using commercial assay kits. BGE treatments at the doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg significantly increased the exercise capacity compared with the non-training control or training control groups (P<0.05). The level of blood LA was decreased but the activity of CS was increased by the treatment of BGE at the dose of 300 mg/kg compared with the training control group. The level of G-6-P in the liver was elevated by the treatment of BGE at the dose of 300 mg/kg, compared to the training group. As compared with non-training control group, the treatments of BGE increased the levels of glucose and G-6-P in the liver and soleus muscle of rats. These results indicate that BGE have a potential for promoting exercise capacity by increasing CS activity in the muscle and decreasing LA in the serum of rats. These results also suggested that BGE can be used as a candidate supplement of health food products for promoting endurance exercise capacity in human athletes.