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Ginseng has been recommended to alleviate the menopausal symptoms, which indicates that components of ginseng very likely contain estrogenic activity. We have examined the possibility that a component of Panax ginseng, ginsenoside-Rb1, acts by binding to estrogen receptor. We have investigated the estrogenic activity of ginsenoside-Rb1 in a transient transfection system using estrogen-responsive luciferase plasmids in MCF-7 cells. Ginsenoside-Rb1 activated the transcription of the estrogen-responsive luciferase reporter gene in MCF-7 breast cancer cells at a concentration of 50 microM. Activation was inhibited by the specific estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780, indicating that the estrogenic effect of ginsenoside-Rb1 is estrogen receptor dependent. Next, we evaluated the ability of ginsenoside-Rb1 to induce the estrogen-responsive gene c-fos by semi-quantitative RT-PCR assays and Western analyses. Ginsenoside-Rb1 increased c-fos both at mRNA and protein levels. However, ginsenoside-Rb1 failed to activate the glucocorticoid receptor, the retinoic acid receptor, or the androgen receptor in CV-1 cells transiently transfected with the corresponding steroid hormone receptors and hormone responsive reporter plasmids. These data support our hypothesis that ginsenoside-Rb1 acts a weak phytoestrogen, presumably by binding and activating the estrogen receptor.

Rheological behavior in concentrated contacts has been studied extensively. In certain conditions such as a rough concentrated contact or sliding of nominally flat surfaces, films may be of molecular (nanometer) scale. The question arises as to whether the application of any viscous fluid model is appropriate. In this study, elastohydrodynamic lubrication analysis is performed on three candidate rheological models: (1) the classical case of viscosity variation with pressure, (2) an isoviscous model which idealizes porous layers on the solid surfaces representing the molecular microstructure, and (3) an isoviscous model which includes van der Waals and solvation surface forces. The latter two models predict behavior similar to classical behavior. The study is not sufficiently sensitive to determine which model best predicts experimental results, but some credence must be given to the latter two because experimental evidence suggests that Reynolds’ equation is not valid for molecularly thin films.

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