Perspectives for Ginsenosides in Models of Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Ginseng, the root of Panax species, is a well-known herbal medicine. It has been used as traditional medicine in Korea, China and Japan for thousands of years and now is a popular and worldwide natural medicine. The active principles of ginseng are ginsenosides which are also called ginseng saponins. Traditionally ginseng has been used primarily as a tonic to invigorate weak body functions and help the restoration of homeostasis. Current in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate its beneficial effects in a wide range of pathological conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, immune deficiency and hepatotoxicity. Moreover, recent research indicates that some of ginseng's active ingredients exert beneficial actions on aging and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson´s disease. Essentially, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anti-apoptotic and immunostimulant activities are mostly underlying the postulated ginseng-mediated protective mechanisms. Next to animal studies, data from neural cell cultures contribute to the understanding of these mechanisms which involve decreasing nitric oxide, scavenging of free radicals and counteracting excitotoxicity. This paper focuses on own and other neuroprotective data on ginseng for dopaminergic neurons and intends to show aspects where neuroprotection e.g. by ginsenosides, additionally or preceding standard Parkinson therapy, could come about as a valuable contribution to slow neurodegenerative processes.