Red-Koji Fermented Red Ginseng Ameliorates High Fat Diet-Induced Metabolic Disorders in Mice

Abstract

Fermentation of medicinal herbs improves their pharmacological efficacy. In this study, we investigated the effects of red-koji fermented red ginseng (fRG) on high-fat diet (HFD)-mediated metabolic disorders, and those effects were compared to those of non-fermented red ginseng (RG). fRG (500, 250 or 125 mg/kg), RG (250 mg/kg), simvastatin (10 mg/kg), silymarin (100 mg/kg) and metformin (250 mg/kg) were orally administered from 1 week after initiation of HFD supply for 84 days. The diameter of adipocytes in periovarian and abdominal fat pads and the thickness of the abdominal fat were significantly decreased by fRG treatment, while HFD-mediated weight gain was partly alleviated by fRG in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, biochemical and histomorphometrical analyses clearly indicated that fRG significantly inhibited HFD-induced metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hepatopathy and nephropathy in a dose-dependent manner. More favorable pharmacological effects on HFD-mediated metabolic disorders were also observed with fRG compared to an equal dose of RG. This finding provides direct evidence that the pharmacological activities of RG were enhanced by red-koji fermentation, and fRG could be a neutraceutical resource for the alleviation of obesity-mediated metabolic disorders.

Breast meat quality of broilers fed fermented red ginseng marc powder mixed with red-koji during storage

“…Red-koji (Monascus species) has been traditionally used as a medicinal food and a fermentation source for other herbs in East Asia (Kim et al, 2013). For example, a product fermented using Monascus was gradually considered to be a functional food because monacolin K (anti-hypercholesterolemic agent), γ-aminobutyric acid (hypotensive agent), and dimerumic acid (antioxidant) were present (Aniya et al, 2000;Su et al, 2003).…”

Comparison of oenological property, volatile profile, and sensory characteristic of Chinese rice wine fermented by different starters during brewing

“…[3] HQW shows a bright red color, subtle sweet flavour, and multiple health-promoting functions due to the application of Hong Qu in the brewing process, which can significantly reduce the total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total triacylglycerol concentrations. [4,5] Despite its unique appearance and specific health benefits, the development of HQW is still very slow for its lack of modern brewing technology and limited scientific research, compared with WQW. [6] Thus, it is important to explore the difference between WQW and HQW during brewing.…”

Mouse Single Oral Dose Toxicity Test of Lactobacillus-fermented Araliae Continentalis Radix Aqueous Extracts (fACR)

“…Moreover, fermentation of herbs using a variety of edible microorganisms seems to further enhance the phar-macological efficacy of parent herbs [12,15,32]. However, these are also indicated that systemic toxicological evaluations of fermented herbs should be tested, regardless of the safety of parent herb [30].…”

“…In recent years, fermented herbs have highlighted as a new source of medicinal ingredient or pharmaceutics, because bioactivity of natural herbs increased by various fermentation through biotransformation or probiotic effects [1,14,15,32]. Moreover, fermentation of herbs using a variety of edible microorganisms seems to further enhance the phar-macological efficacy of parent herbs [12,15,32].…”