Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care, The Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 4028, Chicago, IL 60637, United States.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2010 Oct 1;80(7):947-54. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2010.06.023. Epub 2010 Jun 25.
Ginseng has a prominent position on the list of best-selling herbal products in the world, and its main active constituents are thought to be ginsenosides. Compared with the long history of use and widespread research on Asian ginseng, studies of American ginseng are relatively limited, especially regarding cancer chemoprevention. In recent studies of American ginseng, steaming or heating altered the ginsenoside profile and thereby increased anticancer effects. Yet the ginsenoside structures and their activities have not been systematically elucidated. In this commentary, we introduce the different ginsenosides in American ginseng, both the naturally occurring compounds and those resulting from steaming or biotransformation. We briefly review American ginseng's reported anticancer effects and their mechanisms of action, and explore the possible structural-function relationship with a focus on sugar molecules, hydroxyl groups and stereoselectivity in ginsenosides. Understanding these relationships may produce insights into chemical and pharmacological approaches for enhancing the chemopreventive effects of ginsenoside and for developing novel anticancer agents.
人参在世界畅销草药产品清单中占有突出地位，其主要活性成分被认为是人参皂苷。与亚洲人参的悠久使用历史和广泛研究相比，对西洋参的研究相对有限，特别是在癌症化学预防方面。在最近对西洋参的研究中，蒸或加热改变了人参皂苷的特征，从而增强了抗癌作用。然而，人参皂苷的结构和活性尚未得到系统阐明。在这篇评论中，我们介绍了西洋参中的不同人参皂苷，包括天然存在的化合物和蒸或生物转化产生的化合物。我们简要回顾了西洋参的报道抗癌作用及其作用机制，并探讨了可能的结构-功能关系，重点关注人参皂苷中的糖分子、羟基和立体选择性。了解这些关系可能为增强人参皂苷的化学预防效果和开发新型抗癌药物提供对化学和药理学方法的深入了解。
