Research Center of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Beijing, 100193, PR China.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Nov 13;33(8):1417-24. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.07.020. Epub 2009 Jul 24.
Ginseng total saponins (GTS) are the major active components of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, which has been used as a popular tonic herb for 2000 years in Far East countries. In the present study, two classic animal models: the forced swimming test (FST) and the chronic mild stress (CMS) model were used to evaluate the antidepressant-like activities of GTS. It was observed that GTS at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg significantly reduced the immobility time in the FST in mice after 7-day treatment. GTS also reversed the reduction in the sucrose preference index, decrease in locomotor activity as well as prolongation of latency of feeding in the novelty environment displayed by CMS rats. In addition, HPLC-ECD and immunohistochemical staining analysis indicated that the CMS-induced decrease in monoamine neurotransmitter concentration and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the hippocampus were almost completely reversed by GTS. In conclusion, GTS exerts antidepressant-like effects in two highly specific and predictive animal models of depression. The activity of GTS in antidepression may be mediated partly through enhancing the monoamine neurotransmitter concentration and BDNF expression in the hippocampus.
人参总皂苷（GTS）是人参 Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer 的主要活性成分，作为一种流行的滋补草药，在远东国家已经使用了 2000 年。在本研究中，使用了两种经典的动物模型：强迫游泳试验（FST）和慢性轻度应激（CMS）模型，来评估 GTS 的抗抑郁样活性。结果表明，GTS 在 50 和 100mg/kg 剂量下，在 7 天治疗后显著减少了小鼠在 FST 中的不动时间。GTS 还逆转了 CMS 大鼠在新颖环境中表现出的蔗糖偏好指数降低、运动活性降低以及摄食潜伏期延长。此外，HPLC-ECD 和免疫组织化学染色分析表明，CMS 诱导的海马中单胺神经递质浓度和脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）表达的降低几乎完全被 GTS 逆转。总之，GTS 在两种高度特异和预测性的抑郁动物模型中表现出抗抑郁样作用。GTS 在抗抑郁中的作用可能部分是通过增强海马中单胺神经递质浓度和 BDNF 表达来介导的。
