Partial Structure of Panaxan A, A Hypoglycaemic Glycan ofPanax ginsengRoots¹

Abstract

A hypoglycaemic constituent, panaxan A, isolated from the roots of Panax ginseng, was revealed to be a glycan with molecular weight of Ca. 14000. Spectroscopic and degradative studies demonstrated that panaxan A is mainly composed of a-1-.+ 6 linked nglucopyranose residues having branching at the C-3 position, the ratio of terminals, branching positions and intermediate units being Ca. 1:1:2.

Isolation and Hypoglycemic Activity of Quinquefolans A,B, and C, Glycans of Panax quinquefolium Roots

“…The property of these glycans which was mentioned above was different from that of earlier reported glycans from ginseng (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6). When the quinquefolans were injected ip to normal mice, they showed significant hypoglycemic activity without changing the food intake of the treated-mice.…”

Polysaccharides in Pharmacy: Current Applications and Future Concepts

“…The authors could demonstrate a dose dependent effect of blood glucose lowering up to 50%. Even a structure/activity relationship was proposed showing clearly that a polysaccharide unit composed of galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, and rhamnose is essential for this effect (16,17). However, physiological explanations for this phenomenon were not given, and it is further uncertain if the neccessary high polysaccharide dosis (100 mg/ kg) can be tolerated by humans.…”

Formation of trihalomethanes as disinfection byproducts in herbal spa pools

“…Although different plants have unique chlorine demands, even with similar organic carbon contents and concentrations, the higher percentage of active organic compounds (such as amino acids) in Asian ginseng 56 might explain the higher chlorine demand and the more rapid reaction with free chlorine. A more interesting result is that higher initial chlorine concentrations resulted in higher chlorine demands.…”