title: Effects of red ginseng extract on visual sensitivity and ERG b-wave of bullfrog's eye.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of red ginseng (Panax ginseng) extracts on the visual process in bullfrog's eye. The results obtained indicated that both dark-adapted and light-adapted ERG b-wave peak amplitude was increased with red ginseng treatment. Furthermore, the ERG sensitivity was elevated by 1.4 log units of light intensity. It was found that red ginseng acts as a retinal neural antagonist but not as a GABA receptor antagonist. Red ginseng improved the alcohol dehydrogenase activity and speeded up the delivery of 11 CIS-retinal from retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) to the outer disc of the photoreceptors which resulted in decreased regeneration time of rhodopsin. In the spectral scan, red ginseng treatment brings an increment in absorbance over the whole spectral range (300-800 nm) with maximum difference at around 500 nm. It is concluded that red ginseng may be used to improve visual process, and can potentially be used to treat certain ophthalmic diseases.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Taegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Fazli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wahid
authors.forename: Hyuk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Taous
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Kyung-Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: You Young
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004596:Electroretinography / Q000187:drug effects*; D005123:Eye / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D020795:Photophobia / Q000188:drug therapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011892:Rana catesbeiana; D055351:Retinal Neurons / Q000187:drug effects; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000378:metabolism; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D012243:Rhodopsin; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase