* Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Sejong University, Kwangjingu, Kunjadong, Seoul 04310, Republic of Korea.
† Department of Biomedical Chemistry, College of Biomedical & Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju, South Korea.
Am J Chin Med. 2017;45(6):1147-1156. doi: 10.1142/S0192415X17500628. Epub 2017 Aug 22.
The first record of ginseng use dates back over two millennia, and ginseng is now popular in more than 35 countries. Ginsenosides are the pharmacological constituents responsible for the beneficial effects of ginseng. There is increasing evidence that ginseng and its bioactive ingredients are involved in the regulation of nuclear receptors, molecules that act in response to the specific binding of hormones, which link to a diverse array of signaling pathways, such as the ERK and PI3K/Akt pathways. Knowledge of the mechanism of how ginseng mediates these complexes is essential for the development of multi-target phytomedicine as possible therapy for different diseases. Here, we discuss the literature on the effects of ginseng and its constituents on estrogen, glucocorticoid, peroxisome proliferator-activated, and androgen nuclear hormone receptors, as well as how ginseng and its constituents exert their biological function in the treatment of cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular and neurological disorders. The accumulated results definitely show that the nuclear receptors are cellular targets of ginsenosides, but more rigorous data are required to establish and provide a scientific basis to confirm the suggested efficacy of ginseng or products with ginsenosides.
人参的使用记录可以追溯到两千多年前，现在人参在 35 个以上的国家广受欢迎。人参皂苷是人参发挥有益作用的药理成分。越来越多的证据表明，人参及其生物活性成分参与了核受体的调节，核受体是对激素特异性结合作出反应的分子，与多种信号通路（如 ERK 和 PI3K/Akt 通路）相关联。了解人参介导这些复合物的机制对于开发多靶点植物药作为治疗不同疾病的可能疗法至关重要。在这里，我们讨论了人参及其成分对雌激素、糖皮质激素、过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体和雄激素核激素受体的影响，以及人参及其成分如何在治疗癌症、肥胖症以及心血管和神经紊乱方面发挥其生物学功能。积累的结果肯定表明，核受体是人参皂苷的细胞靶点，但需要更严格的数据来建立并提供科学依据，以证实人参或含有人参皂苷产品的功效。
