Radad Khaled, Gille Gabriele, Liu Linlin, Rausch Wolf-Dieter
Department of Pathology and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt.
J Pharmacol Sci. 2006 Mar;100(3):175-86. doi: 10.1254/jphs.crj05010x. Epub 2006 Mar 4.
Ginseng, the root of Panax species, is a well-known herbal medicine. It has been used as a traditional medicine in China, Korea, and Japan for thousands of years and is now a popular and worldwide used natural medicine. The active ingredients of ginseng are ginsenosides which are also called ginseng saponins. Recently, there is increasing evidence in the literature on the pharmacological and physiological actions of ginseng. However, ginseng has been used primarily as a tonic to invigorate weak bodies and help the restoration of homeostasis. Current in vivo and in vitro studies have shown its beneficial effects in a wide range of pathological conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, immune deficiency, and hepatotoxicity. Moreover, recent research has suggested that some of ginseng's active ingredients also exert beneficial effects on aging, central nervous system (CNS) disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases. In general, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and immune-stimulatory activities are mostly underlying the possible ginseng-mediated protective mechanisms. Next to animal studies, data from neural cell cultures contribute to the understanding of these mechanisms that involve decreasing nitric oxide (NO), scavenging of free radicals, and counteracting excitotoxicity. In this review, we focus on recently reported medicinal effects of ginseng and summarize the current knowledge of its effects on CNS disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
人参是五加科植物的根，是一种著名的草药。数千年来，它在中国、韩国和日本一直被用作传统药物，如今已成为一种广受欢迎且在全球范围内使用的天然药物。人参的活性成分是人参皂苷，也被称为人参皂素。最近，文献中关于人参药理和生理作用的证据越来越多。然而，人参主要被用作滋补品，以增强虚弱体质并帮助恢复体内平衡。目前的体内和体外研究表明，它在多种病理状况下都有有益作用，如心血管疾病、癌症、免疫缺陷和肝毒性。此外，最近的研究表明，人参的一些活性成分对衰老、中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病和神经退行性疾病也有有益作用。一般来说，抗氧化、抗炎、抗凋亡和免疫刺激活性大多是人参介导的可能保护机制的基础。除了动物研究，神经细胞培养的数据也有助于理解这些机制，这些机制包括减少一氧化氮（NO）、清除自由基和对抗兴奋性毒性。在这篇综述中，我们关注人参最近报道的药用效果，并总结其对中枢神经系统疾病和神经退行性疾病影响的当前知识。
