Psychotropic effects of ginseng saponins on agonistic behavior between resident and intruder mice.

The psychotropic actions of crude ginseng saponins, pure ginsenoside Rb1 (GS-Rb1) and ginsenoside Rg1 (GS-Rg1) obtained from the root of Panax ginseng, were evaluated from their effects on agonistic behavior in mice. A resident-intruder test situation was used. When the resident mouse was treated with crude ginseng saponins (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg i.p.), aggressive episodes (offensive sideways posture and attack bite) were significantly suppressed in a dose-dependent manner. However, the agonistic behavior was not altered when the intruder was treated with crude ginseng saponins. GS-Rb1 (2.5, 5 ad 10 mg/kg i.p.) also significantly suppressed aggressive episodes when given to the resident, whereas GS-Rg1 (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg i.p.) was ineffective. Neither GS-Rb1 nor GS-Rg1 given to the intruder caused any significant changes in the behavior of the resident. Although the highest dose of crude ginseng saponins suppressed locomotion frequency, it appears that both crude ginseng saponins and GS-Rb1 possess a specific psychotropic action on agonistic behavior.