ALBERT

Description: Ginseng is an increasingly popular ingredient in supplements for healthcare products and traditional medicine. Heat-processed ginsengs, such as red ginseng or black ginseng, are regarded as more valuable for medicinal use when compared to white ginseng due to some unique less polar ginsenosides that are produced during heat-treatment. Although ginseng leaf contains abundant ginsenosides, attention has mostly focused on ginseng root; relatively few publications have focused on ginseng leaf. Raw ginseng leaf was steamed nine times to make black ginseng leaf using a process that is similar to that used to produce black ginseng root. Sixteen ginsenosides were analyzed during each steaming while using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The contents of ginsenosides Rd and Re decreased and the less polar ginsenosides (F2, Rg3, Rk2, Rk3, Rh3, Rh4, and protopanaxatriol) enriched during steam treatment. After nine cycles of steaming, the contents of the less polar ginsenosides F2, Rg3, and Rk2 increased by 12.9-fold, 8.6-fold, and 2.6-fold, respectively. Further, we found that the polar protopanaxadiol (PPD) -type ginsenosides are more likely to be converted from ginsenoside Rg3 to ginsenosides Rk1 and Rg5 via dehydration from Rg3, and from ginsenoside Rh2 to ginsenosides Rk2 and Rh3 through losing an H2O molecule than to be completely degraded to the aglycones PPD during the heat process. This study suggests that ginseng leaves can be used to produce less polar ginsenosides through heat processes, such as steaming.

Description: Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) are the two most important ginseng species for their medicinal properties. Ginseng is not only popular to consume, but is also increasingly popular to cultivate. In the North Island of New Zealand, Asian ginseng and American ginseng have been grown in Taupo and Rotorua for more than 15 years. There are no publications comparing the chemical constituents between New Zealand-grown Asian ginseng (NZPG) and New Zealand-grown American ginseng (NZPQ). In this study, fourteen ginsenoside reference standards and LC–MS2 technology were employed to analyze the ginsenoside components of various parts (fine root, rhizome, main root, stem, and leaf) from NZPG and NZPQ. Fifty and 43 ginsenosides were identified from various parts of NZPG and NZPQ, respectively, and 29 ginsenosides were found in both ginseng species. Ginsenoside concentrations in different parts of ginsengs were varied. Compared to other tissues, the fine roots contained the most abundant ginsenosides, not only in NZPG (142.49 ± 1.14 mg/g) but also in NZPQ (115.69 ± 3.51 mg/g). For the individual ginsenosides of both NZPG and NZPQ, concentration of Rb1 was highest in the underground parts (fine root, rhizome, and main root), and ginsenoside Re was highest in the aboveground parts (stem and leaf).

Description: Pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines are important mediators that regulate the inflammatory response in inflammation-related diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate different New Zealand (NZ)-grown ginseng fractions on the productions of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in human monocytic THP-1 cells. Four NZ-grown ginseng fractions, including total ginseng extract (TGE), non-ginsenoside fraction extract (NGE), high-polar ginsenoside fraction extract (HPG), and less-polar ginsenoside fraction extract (LPG), were prepared and the ginsenoside compositions of extracts were analyzed by HPLC using 19 ginsenoside reference standards. The THP-1 cells were pre-treated with different concentrations of TGE, NGE, HPG, and LPG, and were then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-10 (IL-10), and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1), were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). TGE at 400 µg/mL significantly inhibited LPS-induced TNF-α and IL-6 productions. NGE did not show any effects on inflammatory secretion except inhibited IL-6 production at a high dose. Furthermore, LPG displayed a stronger effect than HPG on inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) productions. Particularly, 100 µg/mL LPG not only significantly inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, but also remarkably enhanced the production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. NZ-grown ginseng exhibited anti-inflammatory effects in vitro, which is mainly attributed to ginsenoside fractions (particularly less-polar ginsenosides) rather than non-saponin fractions.