Journal
ACTA PHARMACOLOGICA SINICA
Volume 34, Issue 11, Pages 1367-1373Publisher
ACTA PHARMACOLOGICA SINICA
DOI: 10.1038/aps.2013.100
Keywords
ginseng; ginsenoside; gintonin; lysophosphatidic acid; ion channels; G protein-coupled receptors; Ca2+; traditional Chinese medicine
Funding
- Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) [2011-0021144, 2011-0021158]
- Priority Research Center Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)
- Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology [2012-0006686]
- BK21 project
- MRC program of the Korean National Research Foundation [2009-0083538]
- Korean government (MEST)
- National Research Foundation of Korea [2011-0021158, 2011-0021144, 2009-0083538, 2008-0058210] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
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Ginseng, the root of Panax ginseng, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic herb that provides many beneficial effects. Pharmacologic studies in the last decades have shown that ginsenosides (ginseng saponins) are primarily responsible for the actions of ginseng. However, the effects of ginseng are not fully explained by ginsenosides. Recently, another class of active ingredients called gintonin was identified. Gintonin is a complex of glycosylated ginseng proteins containing lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs) that are the intracellular lipid mitogenic mediator. Gintonin specifically and potently activates the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for LPA. Thus, the actions of ginseng are now also linked to LPA and its GPCRs. This linkage opens new dimensions for ginseng pharmacology and LPA therapeutics. In the present review, we evaluate the pharmacology of ginseng with the traditional viewpoint of Yin and Yang components. Furthermore, we will compare ginsenoside and gintonin based on the modern view of molecular pharmacology in terms of ion channels and GPCRs.
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