Potentiation of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of cultured wild ginseng root extract through probiotic fermentation.
OBJECTIVE
This work aimed to determine some pharmacological properties of non-fermented (WG) and fermented (FWG) extracts of cultured wild ginseng root.


METHODS
WG was treated with Bifidobacterium longum to generate FWG. Ginsenoside patterns were analysed using thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. The effect of WG and FWG on reactive oxygen species (ROS) was examined in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Intracellular ROS were detected by flow cytometry. Nitrite in culture supernatant fractions was determined using the Griess reaction. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl was used to determine anti-radical activity. Cell viability was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay.


RESULTS
FWG was rich in ginsenosides Rg3 and Rh2, compared with WG. FWG diminished the enhanced ROS level more strongly than WG in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Both WG and FWG decreased the nitrite levels in stimulated macrophage cells with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 2.7 and 1.5 mg/ml, respectively, implying that FWG had an enhanced anti-inflammatory activity. Neither WG nor FWG exhibited cytotoxicity on the macrophage cells. In the radical scavenging assay, the IC50 values of WG and FWG were 32.6 and 0.78 mg/ml, respectively, suggesting that FWG had an increased scavenging activity.


CONCLUSIONS
FWG possesses enhanced antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activity, indicating that fermentation of cultured wild ginseng root extract with a probiotic bacterium can strengthen some of its desirable effects.
Department of Biochemistry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea.
Byoung-Gun
BG
Park
Hyun-Joo
HJ
Jung
Young-Wook
YW
Cho
Hye-Won
HW
Lim
Chang-Jin
CJ
Lim
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D005285:Fermentation / Q000502:physiology*; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D036145:Ginsenosides; D009573:Nitrites; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C097367:ginsenoside Rg3