title: Anticancer effects of ginsenoside Rg3 (Review).
abstract: Cancer is a life-threatening disease with an alarmingly increased annual mortality rate globally. Although various therapies are employed for cancer, the final effect is not satisfactory. Chemotherapy is currently the most commonly used treatment option. However, the unsatisfactory efficacy, severe side-effects and drug resistance hinder the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs. There is increasing evidence indicating that ginsenoside Rg3, a naturally occurring phytochemical, plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of cancer. The suggested mechanisms mainly include the induction of apoptosis, and the inhibition of proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis, as well as the promotion of immunity. In addition, ginsenoside Rg3 can be used as an adjuvant to conventional cancer therapies, improving the efficacy and/or reducing adverse effects via synergistic activities. Ginsenoside Rg3 may be a widely applied natural medicine against cancer. To date however, there is no systematic summary available of the anticancer effects of ginsenoside Rg3. Therefore, in this review, all available literature over the past 10 years was reviewed and discussed in order to facilitate further research of ginsenoside Rg3.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai 200137, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mengyao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai 200137, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai 200137, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai 200137, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xinya
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pudong New District Zhoupu Hospital, Shanghai 201318, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yongming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai 200137, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D036145:Ginsenosides; C097367:ginsenoside Rg3