Enhanced Intestinal Immune Response in Mice after Oral Administration of Korea Red Ginseng-Derived Polysaccharide

Abstract

(1) Background: The immunostimulatory role of the polysaccharide fraction (KRG-P) of Korea red ginseng (KRG) was studied in cells. However, its immunomodulatory activity is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the chemical properties of KRG-P and its intestinal immune responses in vitro and in vivo. (2) Methods: KRG-P monosaccharide composition and molecular weight were determined using high-performance liquid and size-exclusion chromatography systems. Immunoglobulin A (IgA) and α-defensin-1 transcript levels were measured using a SYBR Green qRT-PCR; defensin-1, Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and IgA protein levels were determined using Western blotting and ELISA kits. (3) Results: The molecular weight of KRG-P was estimated to be 106 kDa, and it contained neutral sugar (74.3%), uronic acid (24.6%), and proteins (1%). In vitro studies of intestinal immunomodulatory activity of KRG-P indicated that GM-CSF and IgA levels increased in Peyer’s patch cells to higher levels than those obtained with KRG and induced bone marrow cell proliferation. In in vivo study, oral KRG-P administration to mice upregulated the expression of α-defensin-1 and IgA in the small intestinal tissue and that of secreted IgA in the feces. (4) Conclusions: KRG-P contributed to the modulation of intestinal immunity and maintenance of intestinal homeostasis against intestinal infection.

Polysaccharides Extracted From Panax Ginseng C.A. Mey Enhance Complement Component 4 Biosynthesis in Human Hepatocytes

“…Xylose and fucose were not detected. Consistent with published studies, glucose, galacturonic acid, and galactose are the most common monosaccharide compositions of WGP (Shi et al, 2017;Shin et al, 2017;Chen et al, 2018;Song et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2019;Park et al, 2020). However, the specific proportion of these monosaccharides has varied widely across these studies, which may be due to the different origins of ginseng.…”

Effects of two polysaccharides from Lepidium meyenii (maca) on intestinal immunity and inflammation in vitro

“…Previous studies have reported that some polysaccharides from mushroom and ginseng can enhance the intestinal immune response, and the structural similarity of these polysaccharides is that they are rich in glucose (>60%). 17,26,30 MC-1 and MC-2 are also rich in glucose, and the glucose contents are 53.66% and 71.9%, respectively. 5,6 In addition, some research studies have reported that the effect of polysaccharides on intestinal immunity may be related to their triple-helical structure.…”

Comparisons of Isolation Methods, Structural Features, and Bioactivities of the Polysaccharides from Three Common Panax Species: A Review of Recent Progress

“…It was determined that RG-I, xylan, and xyloglucan are major components in ginseng polysaccharides sequentially extracted by Na 2 CO 3 [ 37 ]. In addition, when polysaccharide fractions from ginseng were extracted by dialysis (12–14 kDa), different ratios of Ara, Fuc, Xyl, Rha, Man, Glc, and Gal were measured [ 41 , 71 , 72 , 73 ]. For ginseng polysaccharides obtained from ethanol and enzyme-assisted extraction and Sephadex G-100 column purification, RGP-AP-I is composed of 9.5% Rha, 18.4% GalA, 30.4% Gal, and 35.0% Ara and comprises the RG-I structure with a repeating linkage unit, →2)-Rhap-(1→4)-GalAp-(1→, (1→5)-linked arabinan, (1→4)-linked galactan, and arabino-β-3,6-galactan [ 22 ].…”