Effects of hypoglycemic components in ginseng radix on blood insulin level in alloxan diabetic mice and on insulin release from perfused rat pancreas.

Some fractions extracted from ginseng radix (HAKUSAN) caused hypoglycemic effect on alloxan diabetic mice. The effect was abolished by the i.v. injection of antisera against bovine insulin. The same doses of the ginseng fraction (10--50 mg/kg) produced an increase in the blood insulin level in alloxan diabetic mice. Normal mice loaded i.p. with glucose (2 g/kg or more) showed also such an increase. Insulin release from perfused rat pancreases was stimulated by the ginseng fraction (0.2 mg/ml), but the potency was not stronger than that of the sulfonylureas. It was demonstrated that glucose-induced insulin release was marked in the presence of the ginseng fraction. Impaired insulin responses to glucose in alloxan diabetic rats were increased by the fraction (0.5 mg/ml) to or above the control responses in normal rats. The enhanced effect was observed also in the presence of 100 microgram/ml cycloheximide. These results indicate that some ginseng fractions stimulated insulin release, especially glucose-induced insulin release from pancreatic islets and thereby lowered the blood glucose level.