Abstract
Ginseng occupies a prominent position in the list of best-selling natural products worldwide. Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) show different properties and medicinal applications in pharmacology, even though the main active constituents of them are both thought to be ginsenosides. Metabolomics is a promising method to profile entire endogenous metabolites and monitor their fluctuations related to exogenous stimulus. Herein, an untargeted metabolomics approach was applied to study the overall urine metabolic differences between Asian ginseng and American ginseng in mice. Metabolomics analyses were performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) together with multivariate statistical data analysis. A total of 21 metabolites related to D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, glutathione metabolism, TCA cycle and glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, differed significantly under the Asian ginseng treatment; 34 metabolites mainly associated with glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, TCA cycle and taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, were significantly altered after American ginseng treatment. Urinary metabolomics reveal that Asian ginseng and American ginseng can benefit organism physiological and biological functions via regulating multiple metabolic pathways. The important pathways identified from Asian ginseng and American ginseng can also help to explore new therapeutic effects or action targets so as to broad application of these two ginsengs.
Highlights
Asian ginseng, the dried root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C
As an important part of systems biology, metabolomics characterized by holistic perspective which is consistent with the integral thinking of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the comprehensive actions of TCM has been applied to pharmaceutical industry, drug toxicity and clinical diagnosis[16,17,18]
This study offers new insight into TCM properties and their traditional application
Summary
The dried root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C. Several controlled clinical trials demonstrated ginseng’s therapeutic potential for glycemic control whereas Asian ginseng yields greater fast plasma insulin reductions relative to American ginseng[11,12,13] Both Asian ginseng and American ginseng have anti-cancer effects by modulating signaling pathways associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, metastasis, and stem/ progenitor-like properties of cancer cells[14]. Because urine contains most of the body’s metabolic end products revealing the state of the organism and its noninvasive feature, urinary metabolic profiling has been a favorable technique and has been adopted in this protocol[26] Both Asian ginseng and American ginseng are recognized as tonic herbs and used as dietary supplement worldwide due to its regulation and promotion on body. This study offers new insight into TCM properties and their traditional application
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