title: Effect of North American ginseng on 137Cs-induced micronuclei in human lymphocytes: a comparison with WR-1065.
abstract: To explore the radioprotective effect of a standardized North American ginseng extract (NAGE) on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), a micronuclei (MN) assay was conducted in PBL obtained from 12 volunteers. NAGE (50-1000 microg/mL) and WR-1065 (1 mM and 3 mM) were applied to PBL cultures at 0 h and 90 min post-irradiation. It was found that (1) the baseline MN yield of PBL ranged from 14.4 +/- 1.5 to 15.9 +/- 1.5 per 1000 binucleated cells (p > 0.05); after irradiation (1 Gy and 2 Gy), the MN yield increased sharply; (2) MN yields declined with increasing concentrations of NAGE and WR-1065. Even at 90 min post-irradiation of 1 Gy, the maximum level of MN reduction rate caused by NAGE and WR-1065 was 53.8% and 59.2%, respectively; after 2 Gy irradiation, it was 37.3% and 42%, respectively; (3) the MN distribution in PBL followed a non-Poisson distribution in all cases; and (4) both NAGE and WR-1065 showed no significant effect on the proliferation index of lymphocytes. The results indicate that NAGE is a relatively non-toxic natural product, which can be administered as a dietary supplement and has the potential to be a radiation countermeasure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA. leet@ecu.edu
authors.forename: Tung-Kwang
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Kevin F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Roberta M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Johnke
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ron R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: Angelica L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Diaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002586:Cesium / Q000633:toxicity; D002712:Chlorides / Q000633:toxicity; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects; D008624:Mercaptoethylamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048629:Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D036145:Ginsenosides; D008624:Mercaptoethylamines; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; C020174:N-(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane; D002586:Cesium; C028019:cesium chloride