Bioactivity of American Ginseng by Knockout Extract Preparation Using Monoclonal Antibody

Abstract

We produced anti-ginsenoside Re (GRe)-4G10 monoclonal antibody that specifically recognizes GRe and used this to prepare an immunoaffinity column to remove GRe from American ginseng berry extract (AGBE) (thus producing GRe knock-out AGBE (GRe-KO-AGBE)). We compared the anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects of AGBE and GRe-KO-AGBE in adult diabetic C57BL/6J ob/ob mice. Fasting blood glucose levels and body weight were measured in mice receiving daily intraperitoneal injections of 150 mg/kg of either extract for 27 consecutive days. On Day 6, the group taking AGBE had significantly lower fasting blood glucose levels compared to GRe-KO-AGBE-treated mice (70.5 mg/dl vs. 140 mg/dl). On Day 13, the glucose levels in both groups were 201 mg/dl for AGBE-treated group and 169 mg/dl for GRe-KO-AGBE, respectively. GRe (20 mg/kg) had dose-related effects on fasting blood glucose levels (reduced to 188 and 180 mg/dl on Day 5 and Day 12, respectively, compared to 229 and 235 mg/dl, respectively, in the vehicle group). This hypoglycemic effect persisted even after treatment discontinued (blood glucose levels at 3 days post-treatment: 198 and 253 mg/dl with ginsenoside and vehicle treatment, respectively). The monoclonal antibody technique can be used to prepare botanical knockout extracts for bioactivity studies.