This study was designed to determine the changes in saponin content in American ginseng berries after treatment by heating and to assess the anticancer effects of the extracts. After steaming treatment (100-120 degrees C for 1 h, and 120 degrees C for 0.5-4 h), the content of seven ginsenosides, Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3, and Rd, decreased; the content of five ginsenosides, Rh1, Rg2, 20R-Rg2, Rg3, and Rh2, increased. Rg3, a previously identified anticancer ginsenoside, increased significantly. Two hours of steaming at 120 degrees C increased the content of ginsenoside Rg3 to a greater degree than other tested ginsenosides. When human colorectal cancer cells were treated with 0.5 mg/mL steamed berry extract (120 degrees C 2 h), the antiproliferation effects were 97.8% for HCT-116 and 99.6% for SW-480 cells. At the same treatment concentration, the effects of unsteamed berry extract were 34.1% for HCT-116 and 4.9% for SW-480 cells. After staining with Hoechst 33258, apoptotic cells increased significantly by treatment with steamed berry extract compared with unheated extracts. Induction of apoptosis activity was confirmed by flow cytometry after staining with annexin V/PI. The steaming of American ginseng berries augments ginsenoside Rg3 content and increases the antiproliferative effects on two human colorectal cancer cell lines.

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In order to determine the active ingredients in root extracts of Panax quinquefolius (American ginseng), a gradient HPLC method involving UV photodiode array detection was applied to separate and quantify simultaneously the ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf and Rg1. All ginseng saponins were baseline-resolved under the selected conditions, and the detection limits were 1.0 microg/mL or less. The method has been applied to analyse ginsenosides extracted from American ginseng cultivated in both Wisconsin and Illinois. Ginsenosides Re and Rb1 were the two main ginseng saponins in the root. The amounts of Re in 5- and 7-year Illinois-cultivated samples were greater than those found in ginseng cultivated for 3 or 4 years in Wisconsin, whereas the levels of Rb1 were greater in the younger Wisconsin samples.