Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection, Institute for Biomedical Sciences Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
Viruses. 2018 Sep 1;10(9):471. doi: 10.3390/v10090471.
Ginseng products used as herb nutritional supplements are orally consumed and fermented to ginsenoside compounds by the intestinal microbes. In this study, we investigated antiviral protective effects of fermented ginseng extracts against different strains of influenza viruses in genetically diverse mouse models. Intranasal coinoculation of mice with fermented ginseng extract and influenza virus improved survival rates and conferred protection against H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, and H7N9 strains, with the efficacy dependent on the dose of ginseng samples. Antiviral protection by fermented ginseng extract was observed in different genetic backgrounds of mice and in the deficient conditions of key adaptive immune components (CD4, CD8, B cell, MHCII). The mice that survived primary virus inoculation with fermented ginseng extract developed immunity against the secondary infection with homologous and heterosubtypic viruses. In vitro cell culture experiments showed moderate virus neutralizing activity by fermented ginseng extract, probably by inhibiting hemagglutination and neuraminidase activity. This study suggests that fermented ginseng extracts might provide a means to treat influenza disease regardless of virus strains.
人参产品作为草本营养补充剂被口服，并通过肠道微生物发酵转化为人参皂苷化合物。在这项研究中，我们在遗传多样性的小鼠模型中研究了发酵人参提取物对不同流感病毒株的抗病毒保护作用。鼻内共接种发酵人参提取物和流感病毒可提高存活率，并对 H1N1、H3N2、H5N1 和 H7N9 株提供保护，其功效取决于人参样品的剂量。在不同遗传背景的小鼠和关键适应性免疫成分（CD4、CD8、B 细胞、MHCII）缺失的情况下，均可观察到发酵人参提取物的抗病毒保护作用。用发酵人参提取物进行初次病毒接种后存活的小鼠对同源和异源病毒的二次感染产生了免疫力。体外细胞培养实验表明，发酵人参提取物具有适度的病毒中和活性，可能是通过抑制血凝和神经氨酸酶活性。这项研究表明，发酵人参提取物可能为治疗流感疾病提供了一种手段，而与病毒株无关。
