Panax ginseng ginsenoside-Rg₂ protects memory impairment via anti-apoptosis in a rat model with vascular dementia

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 115; no. 3; pp. 441 - 448
• Main Authors: Zhang, Guizhi, Liu, Ailing, Zhou, Yingbin, San, Xun, Jin, Taowei, Jin, Yi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier 12.02.2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: animal models; Animals; apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; bcl-2-Associated X Protein - drug effects; bcl-2-Associated X Protein - metabolism; Biological and medical sciences; brain; central nervous system diseases; dementia; Dementia, Vascular - drug therapy; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; General pharmacology; ginsenoside; Ginsenosides - administration & dosage; Ginsenosides - isolation & purification; Ginsenosides - pharmacology; heat shock proteins; herbal medicines; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins - drug effects; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins - metabolism; ischemia; Male; Medical sciences; medicinal plants; medicinal properties; memory; Memory Disorders - drug therapy; nervous system; Nimodipine - pharmacology; Panax - chemistry; Panax ginseng; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; protein synthesis; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 - drug effects; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 - metabolism; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - drug effects; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - metabolism; Vasodilator Agents - pharmacology; Asia; China; Steroid; Neuroprotection; Rat; Memory; Cardiovascular disease; Panax ginseng; Medicinal plant; Saponin; Prevention; Folk medicine; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Degenerative disease; Glycoside; Araliaceae; Cerebrovascular disease; Terpenoid; Nervous system diseases; Vascular dementia; Pharmacognosy; Rodentia; Cerebral disorder; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Cell death; Animal; Central nervous system disease; Plant origin; Triterpene; Spermatophyta; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2007.10.026

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Ginsenosides, the major active ingredients of Panax ginseng, produce a variety of pharmacological or physiological responses with effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems. Aim of the Study: In this report, we investigated the effects of ginsenoside Rg₂ on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion induced impairment of neurological responses, memory and caudate-putamen neuronal apoptosis in a vascular dementia (VD) rat model. Materials and Methods: Neurological evaluation was performed 24h after reperfusion and Y-maze memory performance was assessed at 48h after reperfusion. Immunocytochemical techniques were employed to check the protein expression of BCL-2, BAX, heat shock protein 70 and P53, which are related with cell apoptosis. Results: Neurological responses and memory ability of the ginsenoside Rg₂ or nimodipine groups improved significantly compared with the VD group. The expression of BCL-2 and HSP70 were decreased, while BAX and P53 were increased in the VD model. The expression of BCL-2 and HSP70 proteins were increased, while BAX and P53 decreased after ginsenoside Rg₂ (2.5, 5 and 10mg/kg) and nimodipine (50μg/kg) treatment compared with the VD group. The study suggests that ginsenoside Rg₂ improved neurological performance and memory ability of VD rats through mechanisms related to anti-apoptosis. Conclusions: The capacity for ginsenoside Rg₂ to modulate the expression of apoptotic related proteins suggests that ginsenoside Rg₂ may represent a potential treatment strategy for vascular dementia or other ischemic insults.