Antihypertensive Effects of Rg3-Enriched Korean Vitamin Ginseng in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Ginseng is well known to treat various diseases. Ginsenoside Rg3 exhibits a variety of pharmacological activities including cardiovascular protective effects. Vitamins utilized as supplements have minimal interactions with other drugs making them attractive targets for therapeutics. Here, we prepared Rg3-enriched Korean ginseng catalyzed by vitamin (REKVG) and evaluated its ability to improve hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The ginsenoside content in both Korean Red ginseng (KRG) and REKVG were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Male SHRs and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs) were randomly divided into 6 groups (WKY saline, WKY KRG, WKY REKVG, SHR saline, SHR KRG, and SHR REKVG). KRG and REKVG were orally administered once daily to the rats at a dose of 10 mg/kg for 6 weeks, and blood pressure was measured in live rats using the tail-cuff method. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were used for the in vitro experiment. HPLC chromatograms revealed that the concentration of ginsenoside Rg3 in REKVG was much higher than that in KRG. The administration of REKVG significantly decreased the systolic blood pressure in SHRs at the end of 6 weeks as compared to KRG. Further, REKVG use resulted in a dose-dependent increase in Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation and NO production in endothelial cells. In addition, the administration of REKVG significantly increased Akt and eNOS phosphorylation and increased plasma NO levels in SHRs. We conclude that REKVG effectively lowers the blood pressure in rats and therefore could be considered for use in preventing or improving hypertension.