title: Effects of ginsenosides on organogenesis and expression of glutathione peroxidase genes in cultured rat embryos.
abstract: Ginseng has been extensively used around the world for several thousand years as a food or drug. However, recently, several reports have indicated that the organogenesis of cultured embryos is inhibited by treatment with ginsenoside, the principal component of ginseng. In this study, we evaluated the morphological changes of embryos and the gene expression patterns of antioxidant enzymes, 3 types of glutathione peroxidases [GPx; cytosolic (cGPx), plasma (pGPx) and phospholipid hydroperoxide (phGPx) forms], in cultured rat embryos (embryonic days 9.5-11.5) exposed to ginsenosides Rb1, Rg1, Re and Rc at levels of 5, 50 and 100 microg/ml. With regard to total morphological scores, no significant differences were noted in the embryos exposed to all doses of ginsenosides, with the exception of 50 microg/ml of Rc. In the cultured embryos exposed to Rg1, a majority of the developmental parameters were normal, but growth of the hind- and mid- brains and the caudal neural tube was significantly increased compared with that observed in the control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, Rc significantly enhanced the growth of a variety of developmental parameters in the cultured embryos, with the exception of the hindlimbs. According to the results of our semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis, the levels of cGPx and phGPx mRNA in the cultured embryos were unaffected by treatment with the ginsenosides. However, the levels of pGPx mRNA increased significantly in the embryos treated with ginsenosides Re, Rc and Rb1 compared with the control group (P<0.05). These findings indicate that ginsenosides may exert a stimulatory effect on the growth of embryos via differential expression of GPx genes.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.
authors.forename: Se-Ra
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mi-Ra
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jung-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yon
authors.forename: In-Jeoung
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Beom-Jun
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Byeongwoo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Yun-Bae
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kwack
authors.forename: Rhee-Da
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Soon-Sun
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dae-Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Gyeung-Haeng
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Hur
authors.forename: Young-Won
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Sang-Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Nam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D036145:Ginsenosides; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase