Abstract
Ginsenosides can be isolated from various cultures of Panax quinquefolium L., American ginseng. The aim of the study was to determine the antibacterial activity of extracts from leaves, stalks, hairy root cultures and field roots of P. quinquefolium L. containing ginsenosides against Staphylococcus aureus isolates obtained from various clinical materials. The agar well diffusion assay was used to evaluate microbial growth inhibition at various concentrations of extracts. The susceptibility of the clinical isolates to recommended antibiotics was determined with the disk-diffusion method. The results showed that the tested extracts inhibited the growth of all S. aureus clinical isolates, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus) with MIC values ranging from 0.5 mg/mL to 1.7 mg/mL. The level of antimicrobial activity of extracts depends on the ginsenoside content. Both field roots and hairy root cultures represent excellent sources of these metabolites. Extracts with ginsenosides were found to inhibit multidrug-resistant staphylococci and can be a valuable complement to antistaphylococcal therapy.
Highlights
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) is a native North American member of the Araliaceae family, and is a perennial understory herb associated with deciduous forests
Organs from field cultivation were harvested in the middle of September from 3-year-old P. quinquefolium L. plants grown on dusty, light, loamy sand characterized by neutral pH, very high phosphorus content, and average potassium and magnesium content; (ii) from in vitro culture as hairy root cultures
Six ginsenosides were quantified in extracts from organs of P. quinquefolium L. taken from field-cultivated plants and hairy root cultures: Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Rg1 and Re
Summary
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) is a native North American member of the Araliaceae family, and is a perennial understory herb associated with deciduous forests. Ginsenosides (triterpene saponins) present in ginseng extract are considered to be its main biologically active components. The most common ginsenosides are Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Rg1 and Re, and these are responsible for the majority of pharmacological effects of ginseng on the nervous, cardiovascular, reproductive and metabolic systems (Wang et al, 2009; Ernst 2010; Cho 2012; Kim 2012). The growing phenomenon of bacterial resistance to antibiotics provides a strong incentive to study the antimicrobial activity of extracts from various medicinal species, such as ginseng. Studies of antimicrobial activity have so far been confined to the reports of field-grown plants and concern standard strains of bacteria (Yan-Qing, 2013, Lee et al 2013)
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