Abstract
Ginseng consumption has been shown to prevent and reduce many health risks, including cardiovascular disease. However, the ginseng-induced changes in biofluids and tissue metabolomes associated with blood health remain poorly understood. In this study, healthy rats were orally administered ginseng extracts or water for one month. Biofluid and tissue metabolites along with steroid hormones, plasma cytokines, and blood pressure factors were determined to elucidate the relationship between ginseng intake and blood vessel health. Moreover, the effect of ginseng extract on blood vessel tension was measured from the thoracic aorta. Ginseng intake decreased the levels of blood phospholipids, lysophosphatidylcholines and related enzymes, high blood pressure factors, and cytokines, and induced vasodilation. Moreover, ginseng intake decreased the level of renal oxidized glutathione. Overall, our findings suggest that ginseng intake can improve blood vessel health via modulation of vasodilation, oxidation stress, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, the decrease in renal oxidized glutathione indicated that ginseng intake is positively related with the reduction in oxidative stress-induced renal dysfunction.
Highlights
Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been widely used as a pharmaceutical plant for thousands of years owing to its various well-established health benefits
We examined the effect of ginseng extract on the isolated rat aorta with or without the endothelium and on the isolated endothelium-intact rat aorta pretreated with the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor NW -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10−4 M)
Estradiol and its metabolite, hydroxyestradiol, highly stimulated endothelial nitric oxide production [12], inhibited the proliferation and collagen synthesis in rat cardiac fibroblasts, and prevented oxidized LDL (oxLDL) formation [26]. These results revealed that the reduction in blood phospholipids and increased estrogen metabolites, including 11β-hydroxyestradiol derivatives, by ginseng intake might be positively associated with blood vessel health through prevention of inflammation and oxidative stress, with concomitant stimulation of nitric oxide-related vasodilation
Summary
Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been widely used as a pharmaceutical plant for thousands of years owing to its various well-established health benefits. Many factors related with cardiovascular functions are affected by ginseng intake and its compounds. Previous studies demonstrated that ginseng intake ameliorated arterial stiffness [3] and blood pressure [4,5], inhibited the progression of atherosclerotic lesions [6], Nutrients 2020, 12, 2238; doi:10.3390/nu12082238 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients. Nutrients 2020, 12, 2238 regulated blood lipid profiles, and inhibited inflammatory factors [7], the factors driving any correlation between ginseng intake and cardiovascular functions are still not completely understood. Epidemiological data have indicated that estrogen hormone levels are strongly related to the progression of cardiovascular diseases [12]; the specific ginseng intake-induced changes in metabolite profiles, including any changes to steroid hormones with atheroprotective effects, have not been clearly demonstrated
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