How Ginsenosides Trigger Apoptosis in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Abstract

Panax ginseng is a natural medicine that has been used globally for a long time. Moreover, several studies have reported the effective activity of ginseng in treating malignancies. Various agents containing ginseng were widely used as an antitumor treatment nowadays. Lung cancer is the most common fatal cancer in China, and lung adenocarcinoma is the most common histological type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). What’s worse, many patients may have a failed response to conventional therapy including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or molecule-targeted therapy due to drug resistance. Apoptosis is a highly ordered cellular suicidal process that plays an essential role in maintaining normal homeostasis. The pharmacological mechanism of many antineoplastic drugs involves triggering of apoptotic process. In several recent studies, ginsenosides are regarded as major active components of ginseng that have the potential to control lung cancer. Most of these results have proved that ginsenosides induce apoptosis in lung cancer cells through many different signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt, NF-[Formula: see text]B, EGFR, and so on. This study is aimed at reviewing the signaling pathways that underlie ginsenosides-triggered apoptotic process and encourage further studies to target promising agents against lung cancer treatment.

N-Butanol Fraction of Wenxia Formula Extract Inhibits the Growth and Invasion of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Down-Regulating Sp1-Mediated MMP2 Expression

“…The WXF is a traditional Chinese medicine formula consisted of multiple components, which focuses on dispelling cold, supplementing yangqi, activating blood circulation and clearing blood stasis. It was observed that the active ingredients of the WXF components such as aconitine (Qi et al, 2018), ginsenoside Rh2 (Li et al, 2018;Li X. et al, 2020), Rg3 (Sun et al, 2017;Xiao et al, 2019), emodin (Zhang et al, 2019a) and Angelica polysaccharide (Zhang et al, 2019a) have anti-tumor activities. Previous studies have shown that WXF has specific anti-tumor properties (Zhang et al, 2019b), and that extracts of WXF retain these anti-tumor effects.…”

Therapeutic Efficacies of Berberine against Neurological Disorders: An Update of Pharmacological Effects and Mechanisms

“…One chemical can trigger opposite effects according to different cell types and physiological status, which is considered as bidirectional regulation [ 141 ]. Many natural products share the bidirectional regulation effect, such as jaceosidin [ 142 ], curcumin [ 143 , 144 ], ginsenosides [ 145 , 146 ], and baicalin [ 147 , 148 ].…”

The Efficacy and Hemorheological Indexes of Ginseng and Its Active Components for Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In addition, ginseng and its active components are often used to enhance chemotherapy sensitivity and alleviate adverse symptoms [17,18]. Related mechanisms may be involved in triggering apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma cells, promoting macrophages' transformation from type M2 to type M1, and keeping balance between T1/ T2 T-helper cells [18][19][20][21].…”