Ultrasonication processed Panax ginseng berry extract induces apoptosis through an intrinsic apoptosis pathway in HepG2 cells

Abstract

Ginseng's major active components, ginsenosides, have been known to show anti-cancer, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities. Ultrasonication processed Panax ginseng berry extract (UGB) contains various ginsenosides. The components are different from Panax ginseng berry extract (GBE). This study was aimed to investigate the cytotoxic mechanism of UGB in HepG2 cells, human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line. HepG2 cells were treated with UGB (0, 10, 20 μg/ml). Cell growth and cellular apoptosis were evaluated by MTT assay and Annexin V/Pi staining, respectively. Intracellular Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were also determined by 2', 7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFDA) staining. The expressions of Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3, the apoptotic markers, were evaluated by Western Blot. UGB dose-dependently inhibited cell growth and induced apoptotic cell death. Intracellular ROS levels were increased. UGB increased the expression of the cleaved form of caspase-3. Furthermore, UGB induced apoptosis of HepG2 cells through Bax activation and Bcl-2 inhibition. In conclusion, UGB induced apoptosis through an intrinsic pathway in HepG2 cells suggesting that UGB might play a role as a novel substance for anti-cancer effect.

Protective effect of ultrasonication-processed ginseng berry extract on the D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury model in rats

“…Table 1 shows the composition ratio of GBE and UGBE by the HPLC analysis [23] . Ginsenosides Rh1, Rh4,Rg2, Rg3, Rk1, Rk3, and F4 were rapidly increased after ultrasonication process.…”

Korean Red Ginseng water extract arrests growth of xenografted lymphoma cells

“…To date, anticancer and antitumor activities of KRG water extract (KRG-WE), fine black ginseng, ginseng berry extract, wild ginseng, and their individual saponins have been observed in colon, prostate, liver, pancreas, brain, and stomach cancer cells [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] . Apoptotic activities of ginseng-derived extracts, G-Rg5, G-Rh1, G-Rh2, and G-Rg3, associated with increased levels of caspase 9 and 3 activities have been demonstrated [3] , [8] . Antiangiogenesis activity of G-Rp1 was also found in in vitro and in vivo tests [9] .…”

Syringaresinol Reverses Age-Related Skin Atrophy by Suppressing FoxO3a-Mediated Matrix Metalloproteinase–2 Activation in Copper/Zinc Superoxide Dismutase–Deficient Mice

“…In this context, the present study explored the feasibility of using natural antioxidant treatment to delay skin aging. We investigated the beneficial effects of Panax ginseng berry, which contains several bioactive compounds (Jimenez et al, 2018;Jung et al, 2016;Kim et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2016), as well as its bioactive compound SYR, on hairless Sod1-deficient phenotypes.…”