Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen is distributed throughout the southwest of China, Burma and Nepal. The root of this plant, called notoginseng or sanchi, has a long history of use as a remedy in Oriental traditional medicine. Modern studies have found that extracts and compounds from notoginseng exert various physiological effects. The active constituents are mainly recognized as saponins. In this review, we summarized the discovery and analysis of chemical constituents in notoginseng. Fifty-six saponins from notoginseng were isolated and elucidated. All of them are dammarane saponins, 35 of which can be classified as belonging to the protopanaxadiols group, and 21 as belonging to the protopanaxatriols group. Evidence from phytochemical studies on notoginseng demonstrated that no oleananetype saponin, which exists in Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), was found. Other types of compounds such as nonprotein amino acids, polyacetylenes, phytosterols, flavonoids, and polysaccharides, many of which have pharmacological activities, were also isolated from notoginseng. Analytical studies on notoginseng were carried out based on botanical and phytochemical advances. In the qualitative studies, identification of the herbal materials and extracts was the main objective. The utilization of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint and molecular biological methods made the identification accurate and efficient. Spectral, chromatographic and immunoassay methods were used for the quantitative analysis. HPLC methods are the main authority regarding the determination of saponins and other types of constituents. The chromatographic conditions and detectors employed in the HPLC are discussed.

The root of American ginseng is a commonly used herbal medicine in the United States. However, the compositions of American ginseng leaves and berries are not clear to date. In this study, we improved a method for the analysis of 12 ginsenosides based on solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet. Good resolution was obtained for all tested ginsenosides: Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, Rc, Rd, Re, Rg1, Rg2, 20(R)-Rg2, Rg3, Rh1, and Rh2. Ginsenosides Rh1, Rg2, and 20(R)-Rg2 were easily separated with this column. The modified gradient elution program resulted in satisfactory linearity and precision. Solid phase extraction made the analysis accurate and efficient. Other investigators recently observed that ginsenoside Rb3 is a potent neuroprotective compound; it can promote learning and memory. In this report, we found that the major ginsenoside in American ginseng leaves and berries was ginsenoside Rb3, while Rb3 only had limited amounts in the root of American ginseng and other species of the Panax genus. Ginsenoside Rb3 was quantified as 4.71% in American ginseng leaves and 5.35% in berries, suggesting that American ginseng leaves and berries are new sources of ginsenoside Rb3.

Chemotherapy is highly cytotoxic, causing a number of severe adverse effects such as nausea and vomiting. Herbal medicines, which can often be used on a daily basis for prolonged treatment, may be clinically beneficial. Ganoderma lucidum or Lingzhi mushroom has been recognized as a remedy in treating a number of medical conditions, including balancing immunity and decreasing drug-induced side effects. It has been shown that rats react to emetic stimuli, like the chemotherapy agent cisplatin, by increased consumption of kaolin, known as pica; and this rat model has been utilized to evaluate novel anti-emetic compounds. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a G. lucidum extract (SunRecome, the most commonly used Lingzhi mushroom extract in China) in attenuating cisplatin-induced nausea and vomiting in the rat pica model. We observed that intraperitoneal cisplatin injection caused a significant increase in kaolin intake at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours, reflecting cisplatin's nausea and vomiting action. This cisplatin-induced kaolin intake dose-dependently decreased after 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg G. lucidum extract injection (p < 0.01). In addition, there was a significant reduction of food intake after cisplatin. The cisplatin-induced food intake reduction improved significantly after G. lucidum extract administrations in a dose-related manner (p < 0.01), suggesting a supportive effect of the extract on general body condition. Future controlled clinical trials are needed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this herbal medication.

Our data suggest that AGBE and the tested ginsenosides do not attenuate cisplatin's tumoricidal activity in MCF-7 cells, but in fact may actually enhance it. Additionally, the ginseng extract and ginsenoside Re by themselves exerted anti-proliferative activity against MCF-7 cells. The herb might potentially serve a complementary role with the chemotherapeutic agents in treating cancer, in addition to decreasing chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting.

PurposeThe pharmacological activities, notably the anticancer properties, of bioactive constituents fromfresh American ginseng berry have not yet been well studied. In this study, we investigated the antiproliferative effects of fresh American ginseng berry extract (AGBE) and its representative triterpenoid glycosides using the human colorectal cancer cell line SW480.Materials and MethodsUsing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the contents of 8 ginsenosides in AGBE were determined. The cell growth inhibitory effects of AGBE and three triterpenoid glycosides (ginsenosides Rb3, Re, and Rg3) were evaluated by proliferation assay and 3H-thymidine incorporation assay. Cell cycle and apoptotic effects were analyzed by using flow cytometry after staining with propidium iodide and annexin V.ResultsHPLC analysis data showed that AGBE has a distinct ginsenoside profile. AGBE inhibited SW480 cell growth significantly in a time-dependent (24-96 hours) and concentration-dependent (0.1-1.0 mg/mL) manner. Ginsenosides Rb3, Re, and Rg3 also possess significant antiproliferative activities on SW480 cells. 3H-thymidine incorporation assay indicated that AGBE and ginsenosides Rb3, Re, and Rg3 might inhibit the transferring and duplication of DNA in SW480 cells. Flow cytometric assay data suggested that AGBE arrested SW480 cells in S and G2/M phases, and significantly induced cell apoptosis.ConclusionAGBE and ginsenosides Rb3, Re, and Rg3 possessed significant antiproliferative effects and induced changes of morphological appearance on SW480 cells. The mechanisms of the antiproliferation of AGBE and tested ginsenosides involved could be cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis.