Ginseng root polysaccharide

Ginseng root polysaccharides have been found to markedly stimulate phagocytosis of the reticuloendothelial system and the production of antibodies. They caused an increase of serum complement in guinea pigs, raised serum IgG levels in... 

Assinewe VA, Arnason JT, Aubry A, et al (2002) Extractable polysaccharides of Panax quinquefolius L. (North American ginseng) root stimulate TNFa production by alveolar macrophages. Phytomedicine 9 398 04... 

Two polysaccharides isolated from the tissue cultures of ginseng and cultivated ginseng root caused, at a concentration of 20 and 40 mg/kg i.v. injection, a marked increase in spleen weight, enhanced the carbon clearance rate in mice and significantly promoted the production of serum specific antibody hemolysins as well as the IgG level in mice. They also enhanced DTH of footpad induced by SRBC in mice, but had no effect on graft-versus-host-reaction (GVHR) in mice [69]. 

Huang BQ, Duing JY (1989) Comparison of immune function between polysaccharides from tissue culture of Panax ginseng and from Ginseng root. / China Pharm Univ 20 216-218... 

The principal measures of quality of ginseng root are the contents of ginsenosides and polysaccharides, which are a mixture of complex sugars. The quality of the root depends on the production practices followed by the growers as well as postharvest processing. 

Ginsenan S-IIA, a polysaccharide fraction from the roots of P. ginseng is a potent inducer of IL-8 production by human monocytes and THP-1 cells, and this induction is accompanied by increased IL-8 mRNA expression. The polysaccharide appears from the structural feature to be a mixture of arabino-galactan type I and type II, based on the presence of 1,3-, 1,6-, 1,3,6-, 1,4-, and 1,4,6-galactose units as well as terminal arabinose and 1,5-, 1,3,5-, and 1,2,5-linked units. It also contains 1,4,6-linked glucose units that together with the 1,2,5-linked arabinose units are different from the units found in other ginseng polysaccharides and may thus be of importance for the activity [64]. 

Wang BX, Cui JC, Lui AJ. The effect of polysaccharides of root of Panax ginseng on the immune function. Acta Pharm Sinica 1980 17 312-320. 

Sonoda, Y. et al. Stimulation of interleukin-8 production by acidic polysaccharides from the root of Ranax ginseng. Immunopharmacology, 38, 287, 1998. 

The polysaccharides of the ginseng comprised 40 % (by weight) of the root. This class of compound was first isolated and documented in 1966 [20]. Most biologically active carbohydrates in ginseng are acidic polysaccharides, known as ginsan, which have the typical structure of pectin [21, 22]. 

Tomoda M, Takeda K, Shimizu N, Gonda R, Ohara N, Takada K, Hirabayashi K (1993) Characterization of two acidic polysaccharides having immunological activities from the root of Panax ginseng. Biol Pharm Bull 16 22-25... 

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