Abstract
BackgroundCancer cachexia is a severe condition that leads to the death of advanced cancer patients, and approximately 50~80% of cancer patients have cancer cachexia. Ginseng extract has been reported to have substantial anticancer and immune-enhancing effects; however, no study has reported the use of ginseng alone to treat cancer cachexia. Our study’s purpose was to investigate the therapeutic effects of ginseng-related monomers or mixtures on a cancer cachexia mouse model.MethodsWe selected BALB/c mice and injected the mice subcutaneously with C26 colon cancer cells to construct a cancer cachexia experimental animal model. The water extract of ginseng (WEG), two types of ginseng extracts (ginsenosides at doses of 5 mg/kg (GE5) and 50 mg/kg (GE50)) and ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) were used to treat cancer cachexia mice. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to analyze the inhibitory effects on two key inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).ResultsOur experimental results show that GE5, GE50 and Rb1 significantly reduced the levels of TNF-α (P < 0.01) and IL-6 (P < 0.01), which are closely related to cancer cachexia; however, WEG, GE5, GE50 and Rb1 did not significantly improve the gastrocnemius muscle weight or the epididymal fat weight of mice with cancer cachexia.ConclusionsThese results indicate that GE5, GE50 and Rb1 may be useful for reducing symptoms due to inflammation by reducing the TNF-α and IL-6 cytokine levels in cancer cachexia mice, thereby ameliorating the symptoms of cancer cachexia. Our results may be beneficial for future studies on the use of Chinese herbal medicines to treat cancer cachexia.
Highlights
Cancer cachexia is a severe condition that leads to the death of advanced cancer patients, and approximately 50~80% of cancer patients have cancer cachexia
We evaluated the effect of Panax ginseng, including the water extract of ginseng, ginseng extract and ginsenoside Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), on cancer cachexia
We demonstrated that ginseng can adjust the increased tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 cytokine levels to be appropriately decreased and we found that ginsenoside Rb1 plays a key role in the effectiveness of ginsenoside
Summary
Cancer cachexia is a severe condition that leads to the death of advanced cancer patients, and approximately 50~80% of cancer patients have cancer cachexia. Ginseng extract has been reported to have substantial anticancer and immune-enhancing effects; no study has reported the use of ginseng alone to treat cancer cachexia. Cancer cachexia involves a range of coordinating symptoms, including body weight and skeletal muscle loss, white adipose tissue dysfunction and systemic inflammatory responses. It has already been defined as a multifactorial syndrome, and it is impossible to wholly reverse this syndrome with only. A review shows that approximately 31.4% (from 7 to 64%) of adult patients suffering from cancer cachexia have been treated by complementary and alternative medicines [6], which indicates that herbal medicines are becoming increasingly popular. It is believed that ginseng has the potential to treat cancer cachexia
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