In the present study, we report a green methodology for the synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles, using the root extract of the herbal medicinal plant Korean red ginseng. The silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized within 1 h and 10 min respectively. The nanoparticles generated were not aggregated, and remained stable for a long time, which suggests the nature of nanoparticles. The phytochemicals and ginsenosides present in the root extract assist in reducing and stabilizing the synthesized nanoparticles. The red ginseng root extract-generated silver nanoparticles exhibit antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms including Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Candida albicans. In addition, the silver nanoparticles exhibit biofilm degrading activity against S. aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thus, the present study opens up a new possibility of synthesizing silver and gold nanoparticles in a green and rapid manner using Korean red ginseng root extract, and explores their biomedical applications.

Recently, green metal nanoparticles have received global attention owing to their economical synthesis, biocompatible nature, widespread biomedical and environmental applications. Current study demonstrates a sustainable approach for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (P-AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (P-AuNPs) from P. serrulata fresh fruit extract. The silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized in a very rapid, efficient and facile manner, within 50 min and 30 s at 80 °C, respectively. The nanoparticles were characterized by using visual observation, UV-Vis, FE-TEM, EDX, elemental mapping, FT-IR, XRD and DLS, which confirmed the formation of monodispersed, crystalline and stable nanoparticles. Further, we explored these nanoparticles for anti-inflammatory activity through inhibition of downstream NF-κB activation in macrophages (RAW264.7). We demonstrated that the nanoparticles reduced expression of inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PEG), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was attenuated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, nanoparticles significantly suppressed LPS-induced activation of NF-κB signalling pathway via p38 MAPK in RAW 264.7 cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the efficient green synthesis of P-AgNPs and P-AuNPs using P. serrulata fresh fruit extract and its in vitro anti-inflammatory effects. Collectively, our results suggest that P. serrulata fresh fruit extract is a green resource for the eco-friendly synthesis of P-AgNPs and P-AuNPs, which further can be utilized as a novel therapeutic agent for prevention and cure of inflammation due to their biocompatible nature.

Cylindrocarpon destructans/Ilyonectria radicicola is thought to cause both rusty symptom and root-rot disease of American and Korean ginseng. Root-rot disease poses a more serious threat to ginseng roots than rusty symptoms, which we argue result from the plant defense response to pathogen attack. Therefore, strains causing rotten root are characterized as more aggressive than strains causing rusty symptoms. In this review, we state 1- the molecular evidence indicating that the root-rot causing strains are genetically distinct considering them as a separate species of Ilyonectria, namely I. mors-panacis and 2- the physiological and biochemical differences between the weakly and highly aggressive species as well as those between rusty and rotten ginseng plants. Eventually, we postulated that rusty symptom occurs on ginseng roots due to incompatible interactions with the weakly aggressive species of Ilyonectria, by the established iron-phenolic compound complexes while root-rot is developed by I. mors-panacis infection due to the production of high quantities of hydrolytic and oxidative fungal enzymes which destroy the plant defensive barriers, in parallel with the pathogen growth stimulation by utilizing the available iron. Furthermore, we highlight future areas for study that will help elucidate the complete mechanism of root-rot disease development.

Panax ginseng is an important cash crop in the Asian countries due to its pharmaceutical effects, however the plant is exposed to various abiotic stresses, lead to reduction of its quality. One of them is the Aluminum (Al) accumulation. Plant growth promoting bacteria which able to tolerate heavy metals has been considered as a new trend for supporting the growth of many crops in heavy metal occupied areas. In this study, twelve bacteria strains were isolated from rhizosphere of diseased Korean ginseng roots located in Gochang province, Republic of Korea and tested for their ability to grow in Al-embedded broth media. Out of them, four strains (Pseudomonas simiae N3, Pseudomonas fragi N8, Chryseobacterium polytrichastri N10, and Burkholderia ginsengiterrae N11-2) were able to grow. The strains could also show other plant growth promoting activities e.g. auxins and siderophores production and phosphate solubilization. P. simiae N3, C. polytrichastri N10, and B. ginsengiterrae N11-2 strains were able to support the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana stressed by Al while P. fragi N8 could not. Plants inoculated with P. simiae N3, C. polytrichastri N10, and B. ginsengiterrae N11-2 showed higher expression level of Al-stress related genes, AtAIP, AtALS3 and AtALMT1, compared to non-bacterized plants. Expression profiles of the genes reveal the induction of external mechanism of Al resistance by P. simiae N3 and B. ginsengiterrae N11-2 and internal mechanism by C. polytrichastri N10. Korean ginseng seedlings treated with these strains showed higher biomass, particularly the foliar part, higher chlorophyll content than non-bacterized Al-stressed seedlings. According to the present results, these strains can be used in the future for the cultivation of ginseng in Al-persisted locations.

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