Dosage and Duration Effects of Korean Red Ginseng Intake on Frequency of Gross Deletions in the nef Gene

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated whether a gross deletion in the nef gene (<TEX>$g{\Delta}nef$</TEX>) is induced by Korean red ginseng (KRG) intake. Ten patients were treated with KRG powder for 3 years in the absence of antiretroviral drug therapy. On average, <TEX>$3,555{\pm}1,042\;g$</TEX> KRG was administered per person over <TEX>$36.1{\pm}2.4$</TEX> months. There was a mild decrease in CD4 T cell count (<TEX>$75{\pm}110/{\mu}L$</TEX>) over the <TEX>$36.1{\pm}2.4$</TEX> months (p = 0.059). We obtained 355 nef amplicons using 71 peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples over a 3-year period. All ten patients exhibited g<TEX>${\Delta}$</TEX>nef (range, 3.2 to 45.9%). At baseline, 3 of 78 amplicons (3.8%) exhibited <TEX>$g{\Delta}nef$</TEX>, whereas 18.8% (52/277) revealed <TEX>$g{\Delta}nef$</TEX> during KRG-intake (p<0.001). The proportion of <TEX>$g{\Delta}nef$</TEX> was significantly correlated with monthly dose of KRG (r=0.89, p<0.001). The median time for first detection of <TEX>$g{\Delta}nef$</TEX> was 13 months. In conclusion, our data show that <TEX>$g{\Delta}nef$</TEX> is inducible by KRG intake and its proportion is dependent on the duration of KRG intake and dose of KRG.