title: Co-administration of aqueous ginseng extract with tobramycin stimulates the pro-inflammatory response and promotes the killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs of infected rats.
abstract: North American ginseng is known to have immunomodulatory and antipseudomonal properties in vitro. In this study we investigated the effects of aqueous ginseng extract, either alone or in a combination with the antibiotic tobramycin, in an animal model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection. The lungs of male rats (n = 5) were infected with P. aeruginosa (2 × 10(8) cfu/mL) in agar-beads by intratracheal instillation. Starting on day 7 post-infection, animals were treated daily for 3 consecutive days with saline, tobramycin (300 μg/kg body mass, intratracheal), and (or) ginseng (100 mg/kg body mass, subcutaneous); animals were sacrificed 24 h after the third drug treatment. Lung bacteria counts, cytokine levels in sera, and lung histopathology were examined. The treatment of infected animals with tobramycin [6.6 × 10(4) colony forming units (cfu)], ginseng (5.3 × 10(4) cfu), or tobramycin plus ginseng (2.0 × 10(3) cfu) lessened the lung infection compared with the control group (saline treated) (6.0 × 10(6) cfu). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12p70, IFN-γ, GM-CSF, TNF-α) in infected animals were significantly increased with co-treatment of ginseng plus tobramycin. These data suggest that co-administration of aqueous ginseng extract and tobramycin stimulated the pro-inflammatory response and promoted the killing of P. aeruginosa.
authors.affiliation: a Medical Sciences Division, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada.
authors.forename: Misagh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alipour
authors.forename: Abdelwahab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Omri
authors.forename: Edmund M K
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: Zacharias E
authors.initials: ZE
authors.lastname: Suntres
mesh_terms: D000362:Agar; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D018925:Chemokines / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014031:Tobramycin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018925:Chemokines; D003470:Culture Media; D016207:Cytokines; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000362:Agar; D014031:Tobramycin