Figure 2.

Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) increases expression of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt; A, B) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2; C, D) in cultured hippocampal neurons.

Primary hippocampal neurons were cultured for 24 hours, then 50 μmol/L Rb1 with or without 10 L API-2 (Akt inhibitor) or 10 L PD98059 (MEK1/2 inhibitor) was added to the medium for culture for an additional 24 hours. Absorbance ratio of p-ERK1/2/total ERK1/2 (t-ERK1/2) and of p-Akt /total Akt (t-Akt) were detected by western blot assay. **P < 0.01, vs. control group; ##P < 0.01, vs. Rb1. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 9; one-way analysis of variance and Student-Newman-Keuls test).