title: Evaluation of antipruritic effects of red ginseng and its ingredients in mice.
abstract: The anti-pruritic effect of red ginseng (the steamed root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, Araliaceae), a traditional medicine in Asian countries, was investigated in mouse scratching behavior models induced by either compound 48/80 or histamine. Red ginseng and its saponin fraction, but not its polysaccharide fraction, showed an anti-pruritic effect. Representative constituents in the saponin fraction, ginsenosides Rg3 and Rh2, inhibited scratching behavior and vascular permeability. These ginsenosides also inhibited the expression of TNF-alpha and IL-4 induced by IgE-antigen complex in RBL-2H3 cells, as well as acetic acid-induced writhing in mice. These results suggest that red ginseng and its ingredients, ginsenosides Rg3 and Rh2, may inhibit scratching behavior by inhibiting IL-4 and TNF-alpha expression, promoting membrane stability, and inhibiting Ca (++) influx.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Sciences, Kyung Hee University, 1 Hoegi, Dongdaemun-ku, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hien-Trung
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Trinh
authors.forename: Yong-Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sang-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Myung Joo
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Dong-Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D019342:Acetic Acid; D000818:Animals; D000982:Antipruritics / Q000032:analysis* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006632:Histamine; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D011537:Pruritus / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051381:Rats; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D003189:p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine
chemical_list: D000982:Antipruritics; D036145:Ginsenosides; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D003189:p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine; D006632:Histamine; D019342:Acetic Acid