Abstract
Ginseng is a group of cosmopolitan plants with more than a dozen species belonging to the genus Panax in the family Araliaceae that has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Among the bioactive constituents extracted from ginseng, ginseng saponins are a group of natural steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins found exclusively throughout the plant. Studies have shown that these ginseng saponins play a significant role in exerting multiple therapeutic effects. This review covers their chemical structure and classification, as well as their pharmacological activities, including their regulatory effects on immunomodulation, their anticancer effects, and their functions in the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. The general benefits of ginseng saponins for boosting physical vitality and improving quality of life are also discussed. The review concludes with fruitful directions for future research in the use of ginseng saponins as effective therapeutic agents.
Highlights
Archaeological evidence indicates that the pharmacological use of plants originated in the PaleolithicAge some 60,000 years ago
Ginseng saponins are not absorbed by the body through the intestines because of their hydrophilicity, a small amount can be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract after orally administration
A recent finding documented by our group was that compound K (CK) can reduce resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs and inhibit the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in ovarian cancer stem cells (CSC), indicating that it may be a good candidate for CSC weakening [40]
Summary
Botanical medicines have been widely used to treat numerous medical conditions owing to their perceived effectiveness, fewer side effects and relatively low cost. Among the 17 different species assigned to the genus Panax, Panax ginseng (P. ginseng), Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng), and Panax quinquefolius (P. quinquefolius) are the most frequently used. Molecules 2019, 24, 2443 as medicines owing to the presence within them of ginseng saponins, which have been shown to have multiple pharmacological efficacies [4]. Ginseng has become one of the most widely consumed herbal nutritional products and alternative/complementary medicine worldwide, with a total production volume of over 80,000 tons and total sales of approximately $2.1 billion in 2013. Over 100 ginseng saponins have been identified from the 11 different Panax species since their first description in the 1960s by Shibata’s group [7]. This review first describes the chemical structure of common ginseng saponins and their differing carbohydrate moieties, and summarizes the therapeutic properties of the key saponins in terms of boosting physical vitality, as well as their regulatory effects on immunomodulation, their anticancer effects, and their functions in the central nervous and cardiovascular systems
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