Sung Woo Sang, Lee Dong Gun
Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 702-701, Korea.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2008 Jan;31(1):139-42. doi: 10.1248/bpb.31.139.
Korean red ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) have been reported as having various biological properties, but the antifungal effects and the mode of action of ginsenosides remain mostly unknown. In this study, saponins were isolated from Korean red ginseng, and the antifungal effects of ginsenosides were investigated. Ginsenosides showed fungicidal effects toward pathogenic fungi tested. To elucidate the antifungal mode of action of ginsenosides, flow cytometry analysis and the change in membrane dynamics using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), as a plasma membrane probe, were performed with Candida albicans. The results suggest that ginsenosides may exert antifungal activity by disrupting the structure of cell membrane. The present study indicates that ginsenosides have considerable antifungal activity, deserving further investigation for clinical applications.
韩国红参皂苷（人参皂苷）已被报道具有多种生物学特性，但人参皂苷的抗真菌作用及其作用方式大多仍不清楚。在本研究中，从韩国红参中分离出皂苷，并研究了人参皂苷的抗真菌作用。人参皂苷对所测试的致病真菌显示出杀菌作用。为了阐明人参皂苷的抗真菌作用方式，使用1,6-二苯基-1,3,5-己三烯（DPH）作为质膜探针，对白色念珠菌进行了流式细胞术分析和膜动力学变化研究。结果表明，人参皂苷可能通过破坏细胞膜结构发挥抗真菌活性。本研究表明，人参皂苷具有相当大的抗真菌活性，值得进一步研究其临床应用。
