Table 3.
In vivo studies of ginseng in combination with other anticancer drugs.
| Ginseng products | Source | Animals | Dose | Anticancer drug | Direct action (inhibit tumor growth) | Indirect action | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panax ginseng extracts | Tongrentang Pharmacy, Beijing, China, major Rg1, Rb1, Rd | Rat | 3.0 mg/kg po., bid, 10 days | 5-FU | N/A | (1) Increase drug elimination half-life: t
1/2(k
e) of control and ginseng treated group 79.17 and 125.72 min, respectively (P < 0.05) (2) Reduce drug-induced weight loss; |
[16] |
| Korean ginseng, Ginseng Nonghyup, Keum-san, Korea | Rat | 12.5~100 mg/kg, po., | cisplatin | N/A | Reduce drug-induced nausea and vomiting | [29] | |
| Korean red ginseng, Korea Ginseng Cooperation, Daejeon, Korea | Ferret | 3 g/kg, po., | [30] | ||||
|
| |||||||
| acidic polysaccharides |
Korean red ginseng, Korea Ginseng Cooperation, Daejeon, Korea | ICR mice bearing sarcoma 180; C57BL/6 mice bearing B16 melanoma | 25, and 100 mg/kg, ip., 7 days | paclitaxel | Yes | (1) Improve survival rate (ICR mice bearing sarcoma 180): 28.6 and 42.8% increase in 30-day life-span, while no obvious effect seen on drug-treatment alone. (2) Reduce drug-induced immunosuppression: increase NK cell cytotoxicity (C57BL/6 mice) |
[27] |
| Korean red ginseng, Korean Tobacco, and Ginseng company | BALB/c mice | 33~300 mg/kg po., 3 wks |
Cyclophosphamide (CP) | N/A | Reduce drug-induced: (1) weight loss; (2) immunosuppression: (i) increase spleen weight (ii) restore splenocyte proliferation (iii) increase macrophage activity (NO production) (iv) increase NK cell cytotoxicity (v) increase serum IL-12, IFN-γ and CRP (C-reactive protein) level |
[31] | |
| Korean ginseng | BALB/c mice: C57BL/6 mice bearing mouse lung carcinoma LLC cells | 100 mg/kg, i.p. | Cyclophosphamide (CP) | Yes | (1) Improve survival rate (BALB/c mice): 53% of post-treated group increased in the 30-day life-span compared with only 10% in the drug alone treated group. (2) Reduce drug-induced immunosuppression. (i) Accelerate recovery of bone marrow cells and blood neutrophils (ii) Stimulate splenocyte proliferation and maintain its cytotoxicity. (iii) Increase cytokine mRNA expression (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, SCF and GM-CSF). |
[32] | |
|
| |||||||
| neutral polysaccharides | Panax ginseng, Changbai Mountain, Jilin, China | ICR mice bearing Sarcoma 180 | 25~150 mg/kg, po., 10 days | 5-FU | Yes | Reduce drug-induced immunosuppression: (i) increase spleen weight, (ii) stimulate lymphocyte proliferation, (iii) increase NK cell cytotoxicity, (iv) enhance macrophage activity (phagocytosis and NO production), (v) increase serum TNF-a level |
[33] |
|
| |||||||
| Ginsenoside Rg3 | American ginseng; ≥99.5%, provided by Department of Medicinal Chemistry of Preclinical Medicine of Jilin University, China | Athymic mice bearing human ovarian cancer SKOV-3 | 3.0 mg/kg, ip., 10 days | Cyclophosphamide (CP) | [34] | ||
| Panax red ginseng, from Northeast China, ≥99.5%, YaTai Pharmaceutical Company, China | C57/BL6 mice with Lewis lung carcinoma | 20 mg/kg, po. 18 days | gemcitabine | Yes: (1) Decrease tumor weight (2) Inhibit tumor cell proliferation [19] (3) Increase tumor necrosis rate [20] |
(1) Improve survival: (i) Rg3, CP, and combination group had longer survival (23.72, 25.90, and 27.12 days, respectively) compared with control group (13.61 days, P < 0.05) (n = 7) [19]; (ii) 18 days after treatments, combination group resulted in increased survival rate (100%) compared with control or gemcitabine group (60% or 70%, P < 0.05) (n = 10) [20] (iii) Control group, low-dose CP or Rg3 alone group, and combination group had 29, 70 or 77, and 95 days of 50% survival rate from implantation, respectively. (n = 20) [35] (2) Improve life quality (3) Reduce drug-induced: weight loss, leucopenia, limited motility, and skin discoloration. (4) Inhibit tumor angiogenesis: (i) decrease microvascular density (ii) decrease vascular endothelial growth factor expression |
[11] | |
| 10 mg/kg, po. 21 days | Cyclophosphamide (CP) | [36] | |||||
|
| |||||||
| Ginsenoside Rg1 | Panax ginseng, provided by Takeda Chemical Industries, Osaka. | BALB/c mice | 10 mg/kg, i.p. 3 days | Cyclophosphamide | N/A | Reduce drug-induced immunosuppression | [37] |
|
| |||||||
| Ginsenoside Rd | Panax ginseng | Rat | 1 and 5 mg/kg, po. 30 days | cisplatin | Reduce drug-induced renal toxicity | [23] | |
|
| |||||||
| Shengmai (Chinese herbal preparation consisting red ginseng, lilyturf root and magnolia vine fruit) | Jilin Province Ji'an Yisheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., China | Rat | 3 mL/kg, i.p., pre and during treatment, 4 wks | doxorubicin (DOX) | N/A | Reduce drug-induced diaphragm muscle toxicity | [38] |
| Shanghai Hutchison Pharmaceuticals | Mice bearing hepatoma | 3.5~14 mL/kg/d, 14 days | 5-FU | Yes | (1) Improve immunological function (2) Reduce drug induced adverse reaction: (i) protective effect on liver and renal function (ii) increase WBC and PLT counts |
[39] | |