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Deer velvet antlers, known as tonics, have created a large market as dietary supplements and have been consumed worldwide. Despite the high consumption of velvet antlers as dietary supplements, analytical methods for their identification and standardization remain limited. Quantitative analysis for gangliosides, considered quality indexes for velvet antlers, was developed to indirectly analyze the sialic acid obtained from chemical degradation. Owing to the complex and time-consuming chemical derivatization of gangliosides, a simple and rapid quality evaluation method for velvet antlers must be developed. For the first time, this study reports the isolation and structural elucidation of two new sphingomyelins (1 and 2), two known sphingomyelins (3 and 4), and four ceramides (5-8) as chemical markers from the velvet antlers of Cervus elaphus. To expedite and simplify the quality control of velvet antlers, advanced quantitative analysis of sphingolipids has been developed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy.
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BACKGROUND: Many researchers reported that the various immune activities of red ginseng are due to acid polysaccharides. But, the exact structural characteristics of the acidic polysaccharide in red ginseng have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we isolated the acidic polysaccharide from red ginseng and characterized the structural property of the active moiety of this polysaccharide, which contributes to the immunostimulatory activity of red ginseng. METHODS: A polysaccharide (RGP-AP-I) was purified from red ginseng via size-exclusion chromatography using Sephadex G-100. Immunostimulatary activity of RGP-AP-I was investigated via anti-complementory and macrophage stimulatory activity. The structure of RGP-AP-I was characterized by HPLC, sugar composition, ß-glucosyl Yariv reagent and methylation analysis. RESULTS: Peritoneal macrophages stimulated using RGP-AP-I significantly augmented the production of various cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. The primary structure of RGP-AP-I was elucidated by assessing its sugar composition and methylation analysis. RGP-AP-I is a 96 kDa acidic polysaccharide, and comprises nine different monosaccharides, which mainly include sugars such as rhamnose (Rha, 9.5%), galacturonic acid (GalA, 18.4%), galactose (Gal, 30.4%), and arabinose (Ara, 35.0%). RGP-AP-I exhibited an considerable reaction with the ß-glucosyl Yariv reagent, revealing the presence of arabino-ß-3,6-galactan. Methylation analysis indicated that RGP-AP-I comprises 21 different glycosyl linkages, such as 3-, 4-, 6- and 3,6-linked Galp; 5-linked Araf; 2,4-linked Rhap; and 4-linked GalAp, which are characteristics of rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I). CONCLUSION: we assumed that the immunostimulatory activity of RGP-AP-I may be due to the RG-I structure, which comprises a main chain with a repeating linkage unit, [â2)-Rhap-(1â4)-GalAp-(1â] and three groups of side chains such as (1â5)-linked arabinan, (1â4)-linked galactan, and arabino-ß-3,6-galactan, which branch at the C(O)4 positions of Rha residues in the main chain of RGP-AP-I.
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BACKGROUND: The non-saponin fraction of Korean Red Ginseng has been reported to have many biological activities. However, the effect of this fraction on anti-diabetic activity has not been elucidated in detail. In this study, we investigated the effects of KGC05P0, a non-saponin fraction of Korean Red Ginseng, on anti-diabetic activity in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: We measured the inhibition of commercially obtained α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities in vitro and measured the glucose uptake and transport rate in Caco-2 cells. C57BL/6J mice and C57BLKS/Jdb/db (diabetic) mice were fed diets with or without KGC05P0 for eight weeks. To perform the experiments, the groups were divided as follows: normal control (C57BL/6J mice), db/db control (C57BLKS/Jdb/db mice), positive control (inulin 400 mg/kg b.w.), low (KGC05P0 100 mg/kg b.w.), medium (KGC05P0 200 mg/kg b.w.), and high (KGC05P0 400 mg/kg b.w.). RESULTS: KGC05P0 inhibited α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities in vitro, and decreased glucose uptake and transport rate in Caco-2 cells. In addition, KGC05P0 regulated fasting glucose level, glucose tolerance, insulin, HbA1c, carbonyl contents, and proinflammatory cytokines in blood from diabetic mice and significantly reduced urinary glucose excretion levels. Moreover, we found that KGC05P0 regulated glucose production by down-regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway, which inhibited gluconeogenesis. CONCLUSION: Our study thereby demonstrated that KGC05P0 exerted anti-diabetic effects through inhibition of glucose absorption and the PI3K/AKT pathway in in vitro and in vivo models of diabetes. Our results suggest that KGC05P0 could be developed as a complementary food to help prevent T2DM and its complications.
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BACKGROUND: Panax ginseng Meyer has widely been used as a traditional herbal medicine because of its diverse health benefits. Amounts of ginseng compounds, mainly ginsenosides, vary according to seasons, varieties, geographical regions, and age of ginseng plants. However, no study has comprehensively determined perturbations of various metabolites in ginseng plants including roots and leaves as they grow. METHODS: Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR)-based metabolomics was applied to better understand the metabolic physiology of ginseng plants and their association with climate through global profiling of ginseng metabolites in roots and leaves during whole growing periods. RESULTS: The results revealed that all metabolites including carbohydrates, amino acids, organic acids, and ginsenosides in ginseng roots and leaves were clearly dependent on growing seasons from March to October. In particular, ginsenosides, arginine, sterols, fatty acids, and uracil diphosphate glucose-sugars were markedly synthesized from March until May, together with accelerated sucrose catabolism, possibly associated with climatic changes such as sun exposure time and rainfall. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the intrinsic metabolic characteristics of ginseng plants and their associations with climate changes during their growth. It provides important information not only for better understanding of the metabolic phenotype of ginseng but also for quality improvement of ginseng through modification of cultivation.
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This study was designed to determine the nutritional profile and functional components of the NZT (New Zealand deer's tail, Cervus elaphus var. scoticus Lönnberg). Twenty-nine fatty acids, eighteen amino acids, twenty-five minerals, chondroitin, and phospholipids were detected by the auto-fatty acid analyzer, auto-amino acid analyzer, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer, absorbance measurements, and by weighing after separating, respectively. 7-Ketocholesterol was isolated from alcohol extract by silica gel column chromatography analysis. Four steroid hormones (androstene-3,17-dione, ß-estradiol, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone), one base and seven nucleosides, and N-acetylneuraminic acid were detected by a HPLC-photodiode array and HPLC-fluorescence detector. As a result, NZT was composed of many nutritional and functional ingredients found in New Zealand deer's antler (NZA) which was one of deer co-products, and it was considered that NZT could be a novel health food resource such as NZA.
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A quick and simple method for simultaneous determination of the 30 ginsenosides (ginsenoside Ro, Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re, Rf, Rg1, 20(S)-Rg2, 20(R)-Rg2, 20(S)-Rg3, 20(R)-Rg3, 20(S)-Rh1, 20(S)-Rh2, 20(R)-Rh2, F1, F2, F4, Ra1, Rg6, Rh4, Rk3, Rg5, Rk1, Rb3, Rk2, Rh3, compound Y, compound K, and notoginsenoside R1) in Panax ginseng preparations was developed and validated by an ultra performance liquid chromatography photo diode array detector. The separation of the 30 ginsenosides was efficiently undertaken on the Acquity BEH C-18 column with gradient elution with phosphoric acids. Especially the chromatogram of the ginsenoside Ro was dramatically enhanced by adding phosphoric acid. Under optimized conditions, the detection limits were 0.4 to 1.7 mg/L and the calibration curves of the peak areas for the 30 ginsenosides were linear over three orders of magnitude with a correlation coefficients greater than 0.999. The accuracy of the method was tested by a recovery measurement of the spiked samples which yielded good results of 89% to 118%. From these overall results, the proposed method may be helpful in the development and quality of P. ginseng preparations because of its wide range of applications due to the simultaneous analysis of many kinds of ginsenosides.
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For quality control of components in Korean red ginseng powder and extract, a new method for simultaneous quantification of 12 ginsenosides (Rg1, Re, Rf, Rh1, Rg2[S], Rg2[R], Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rd, Rg3[S], and Rg3[R]) was studied. Compared to the official method for quantification of marker substances (ginsenosides Rg1 and Rb1), the proposed methods were guaranteed by in-house method validation. Several criteria such as linearity, specificity, precision and accuracy were evaluated. For red ginseng powder, recovery (averaging 95% to 105%) was calculated, and analysis of variance was carried out to estimate the relative standard deviation (0.20% to 2.12%). For red ginseng extract, the average recovery rate was 90% to 99% and the relative standard deviation was 0.39% to 2.40%. These results indicate that the proposed method could be used in the laboratory for determination of 12 ginsenosides in red ginseng powder and extract. In addition, this method was found to be suitable for quality control of ginseng products and potentially offer time and cost benefits.
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OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate safety and efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for advanced pancreatic cancer (PC). METHODS: Patients with PC TNM stage III or IV were included. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed 2 weeks before and after the HIFU. The ablating tumor volume was calculated by ratio of the nonperfused necrotic area of the planned area on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted image on post-HIFU magnetic resonance imaging. The ablation results were stratified into 4 ranges: 100% to 90% unenhanced area of targeting area, 90% to 50%, within 50%, and no change. RESULTS: High-intensity focused ultrasound treatment was performed without severe adverse event in 46 patients, 49 times (male-female = 25:21; mean age, 60.7 ± 10.0; TNM stage 3-stage 4 = 18:28). Average size of the PC lesion was 4.2 ± 1.4 cm (1.6-9.3 cm). After HIFU treatment, ablating tumor volume was as follows: 90% to 100% in 38 lesions, 90% to 50% in 8, and within 50% in 3. Overall median survival (S1) from initial PC diagnosis was 12.4 months. Overall survival (S2) rates at 6, 12, and 18 months from HIFU were 52.2%, 30.4%, and 21.79%, respectively, with a median survival of 7.0 months CONCLUSIONS: High-intensity focused ultrasound is safe and effective, which induced excellent local tumor control in most patients with advanced PC.