ABSTRACT
Tienchi ginseng tea was prepared from stems and leaves of Tienchi ginseng which is a special product in China. The increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) was significantly inhibited by the consumption of a 4% this tea solution as drinking water from the prehypertensive stage (6 weeks of age) in male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). A similar intake from the hypertensive stage also showed an anti-hypertensive effect. In contrast, a similar intake had no effect on SBP of normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats. We found that the rhizome of Tienchi ginseng contained two types of saponin: 20(s)-protopanaxadiol (PPD) such as ginsenosides Rb(1) and Rd having a hypotensive effect, and 20(s)-protopanaxatriol (PPT) such as ginsenosides Rg(1) and Re having a hypertensive effect. In contrast, the tea sample contained PPD and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but no PPT. These results suggest that drinking this tea infusion would be useful for controlling hypertension.
