Institute of Special Animals and Plants Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun 130112, China.
College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China.
Molecules. 2019 Mar 20;24(6):1096. doi: 10.3390/molecules24061096.
The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of the immunological activity of various parts (root/stem/leaf/flower/seed) of five-year-old ginseng on the immune system of immunosuppressive mice. Immunosuppression was induced by cyclophosphamide (CTX) in the mouse model, whereas levamisole hydrochloride tablet (LTH) was used for the positive control group. We found that ginseng root (GRT), ginseng leaf (GLF), and ginseng flower (GFR) could relieve immunosuppression by increased viability of NK cells, enhanced immune organ index, improved cell-mediated immune response, increased content of CD4⁺ and ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and recovery of macrophage function, including carbon clearance, phagocytic rate, and phagocytic index, in immunodeficient mice. However, ginseng stem (GSM) and ginseng seed (GSD) could only enhance the thymus indices, carbon clearance, splenocyte proliferation, NK cell activities, and the level of IL-4 in immunosuppressed mice. In CTX-injected mice, GRT and GFR remarkably increased the protein expression of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1, SOD1, SOD2, and CAT in the spleen. As expected, oral administration of GRT and GFR markedly enhanced the production of cytokines, such as IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-, and TNF-, compared with the CTX-induced immunosuppressed mice, and GRT and GFR did this relatively better than GSM, GLF, and GSD. This study provides a theoretical basis for further study on different parts of ginseng.
本研究的目的是比较五年生人参各部位（根/茎/叶/花/种子）的免疫活性对免疫抑制小鼠免疫系统的影响。采用环磷酰胺（CTX）诱导小鼠模型产生免疫抑制，盐酸左旋咪唑片（LTH）为阳性对照组。结果发现，人参根（GRT）、人参叶（GLF）和人参花（GFR）可通过增加 NK 细胞活力、增强免疫器官指数、改善细胞介导的免疫反应、增加 CD4⁺含量和 CD4⁺/CD8⁺比值以及恢复巨噬细胞功能（包括碳廓清、吞噬率和吞噬指数）来缓解免疫抑制。然而，人参茎（GSM）和人参种子（GSD）仅能增强免疫抑制小鼠的胸腺指数、碳廓清、脾细胞增殖、NK 细胞活性和 IL-4 水平。在 CTX 注射的小鼠中，GRT 和 GFR 显著增加了脾脏中 Nrf2、HO-1、NQO1、SOD1、SOD2 和 CAT 的蛋白表达。与 CTX 诱导的免疫抑制小鼠相比，口服 GRT 和 GFR 可显著增加细胞因子（如 IL-1β、IL-4、IL-6、IFN-γ和 TNF-α）的产生，且 GRT 和 GFR 的效果相对优于 GSM、GLF 和 GSD。本研究为进一步研究人参不同部位提供了理论依据。
