Comparative study of Korean White Ginseng and Korean Red Ginseng on efficacies of OVA-induced asthma model in mice

Abstract

BackgroundKorean ginseng is a well-known medicinal herb that has been widely used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases, including asthma. Ginseng can be classified as white ginseng (WG) or red ginseng (RG), according to processing conditions. In this study, the authors compared the efficacies of these two ginseng types in a mouse model of acute asthma.MethodsTo produce the acute asthma model, BALB/c mice were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and aluminum hydroxide, and then challenged with OVA. WG and RG extracts were administered to mice orally. The influences of WG and RG on airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), immune cell distributions in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), IgG1, and IgG2a in serum were investigated. Cytokine production by lymphocytes isolated from peribronchial lymph nodes and histopathological changes was also examined.ResultsIn OVA-sensitized mice, both WG and RG reduced AHR and suppressed immune cell infiltration in bronchoalveolar regions. BALF OVA-specific IgE levels were significantly lower in RG-treated OVA-sensitized mice than in the OVA-sensitized control group. WG and RG also suppressed inflammatory cytokine production by peribronchial lymphocytes. Histopathological findings showed reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and airway remodeling (e.g., epithelial hyperplasia) in WG- and RG-treated OVA mice compared with OVA controls.ConclusionIn this study, WG and RG showed antiasthmatic effects in an OVA-sensitized mouse model, and the efficacies of RG were found to be better than those of WG.

Winyanghuayin Decoction and Xiaoqinglong Decoction Treatment Airway Inflammation of Cold Asthma Through PI3K-mTOR Signal Pathway

“…We can nd that treatment effects of WYHY decoction is better than XQL decoction in the regulation of autophagy and improved airway in ammation. The reason may be that WYHY added Ginseng (Radix et Rhizoma) and Astragali (Radix) on the basis of XQL decoction.Many experimental studies have found that Ginseng and Astragali can regulating the autophagy related gene through PI3K-mTOR pathway [44][45][46][47][48][49], and Ginseng and Astragali can also alleviate various kinds of in ammation [50][51][52][53][54]. Therefore, according to the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that WYHY decoction can better regulate autophagy and alleviate airway in ammation of cold asthma rats by added Ginseng (Radix et Rhizoma) and Astragali (Radix).…”

Effects of Red and Fermented Ginseng and Ginsenosides on Allergic Disorders

“…Babayigit et al reported that orally administered RG extract suppressed the chronic airway inflammation and mast cell populations in ovalbumin-sensitized mice [43]. Oral administration of WG or RG alleviated IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 expression and immune cell infiltration in the bronchoalveolar regions of mice with ovalbumin-induced asthma [44]. They also suppressed IgE levels.…”

Effects of Red Ginseng on Neural Injuries with Reference to the Molecular Mechanisms

“…Protopanaxadiol (PPD) and protopanaxatriol (PPT) are the main structures of ginsenosides ( Figure 1) [7]. Some studies have characterized the chemical compositions of RG and WG, indicating the differences between RG and WG at the molecular level [8][9][10]. Ginsenosides in RG are known to increase in content and new ginsenosides can be generated within RG with steaming (Table 1) [10,11].…”