Specific activity of Korean red ginseng saponin and non-saponin fractions in ageing-induced rat testicular dysfunction

Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer, KRG) is a functional food with multiple therapeutic benefits. This study evaluated the fraction-specific effects of KRG in ageing-induced testicular dysfunction rat model. KRG water extract (KRG-WE; 200 mg/kg), crude saponin (CS; 20 mg/kg), and non-saponin (NS; 180 mg/kg) fractions were administered orally for six months. Body weight increments, blood chemistry, histological parameters, sperm kinematics, expression levels of key spermatogenesis molecules and anti oxidative enzyme status were determined in vehicle treated young and aged control groups. KRG-WE, CS and NS fractions significantly (p < 0.05) ameliorated the ageing-induced testicular damage in all the parameters tested. Although total KRG-WE outperformed the tested activities, both CS and NS fractions also exhibited distinct effects in improving ageing-induced testicular dysfunction in rats. The potential non-saponin active constituents in combination with CS fraction might be responsible for such synergistic effect. More detailed study on the KRG-NS fraction active constituents is quite essential. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.