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. 2022 Jul 7;13:946752. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.946752

TABLE 1.

Summary of effects and mechanisms of ginseng and ginsenosides in vitro and in vivo models.

Gensing and gensinosides Content of ginsenosides in panax ginseng Animals/Cells and Dosage Model Mechanisms Effects References
KRG C57BL/6 mice, 100 mg/kg HI Nrf2↑ Antioxidant Liu et al. (2020)
AQP4↓
KRG C57BL/6 mice, 100 mg/kg HI NQO1, HO1, SOD2, Gpx1, IL-10↑ Antioxidant, anti-inflammation Liu et al. (2019b)
IL-1β, iNOS↓
KRG C57BL/6 mice, 100 mg/kg pdMCAO Nrf2↑ Oxidative stress, inflammation, improve long-term recovery Liu et al. (2019a)
AQP4↓
KRG C57BL/6 mice, 100 mg/kg pdMCAO NQO1, HO1, SOD2, Gpx1↑ Antioxidant, attenuate acute sensorimotor deficits, improve long-term functional recovery Liu et al. (2018b)
Nrf2 pathway
RGE C57BL/6 mice, 360 mg/kg MCAO ASK1, ROS, TUNEL↓ Oxidative stress, apoptosis Cheon et al. (2013)
KRG SD rats, 100 mg/kg MCAO/R MDA↑ Antioxidant Ban et al. (2012)
GPx, SOD, CAT↓
BG SD rats, 100 or 400 mg/kg MCAO Cholinergic immunoreactivity, NADPH-d↑ Improve learning and memory Park et al. (2011a)
KRG SD rats, 100 mg/kg tMCAO TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6↓ Inflammation Lee et al. (2011)
PGE Wistar rats, 200 mg/kg TGCI SOD, GPx↑ Antioxidant Kim et al. (2009)
MDA↓
KGT Swiss albino rat, 350 mg/kg MCAO GSH, GR, CAT, GST, GPx, SOD↑ Antioxidant Shah et al. (2005)
LPO↓
GTS Wistar rats, 25 mg/kg MCAO BrdU+/NeuN+↑ Neurogenesis Zheng et al. (2011)
Rd 0.07 ± 0.03%Park et al. (2013) C57BL/6 mice, 10, 20, 40 mg/kg MCAO/R miR-139-5p, Nrf2↑ Pyroptosis Yao et al. (2022)
0.07–0.19%Chen et al. (2019b) Cortical neuron, 5, 10, 20 μM OGD/R NLRP3, ASC, Caspase 1 p20, and GSDMD-N, FoxO1, Keap1, ROS, TXNIP↓ miR-139-5p/FoxO1/Keap1/Nrf2 axis
Rd SD rats, 30 mg/kg MCAO NF-κB, MMP-9↓NF-κB/MMP-9 pathway BBB inflammation Zhang et al. (2020b)
Rd SD rats, 10 mg/kg MCAO P-NR2b at Ser-1303, calcineurin↓ Excitotoxicity Zhang et al. (2020a)
Cortical neurons, 0 μM, 3 μM, 10 μM, 100 μM OGD
Rd C57BL/6 J mice, 10 or 30 mg/kg CCH BDNF↑ caspase-3, Ac-H3, HDAC2↓ Epigenetic modulation apoptosis Wan et al. (2017)
Neuronal Cell, 0.1, 1.0, and 10 μM OGD/R
Rd SD rats, 50 mg/kg MCAO NR2B, P- Ser-1303, P-Tyr-1472, P- Ser-1480↓ Neuroprotection Xie et al. (2016)
Cortical neurons, 10 μM OGD
Rd SD rats, 10 mg/kg MCAO IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IκBα, p65, NF-κB↓ Inflammation Zhang et al. (2016)
BV2 cells, 10 μM OGD
Rd SD rats, 30 mg/kg MCAO NEIL1, NEIL3 ↑ mtDNA and nDNA damages, caspase-3, TUNEL↓ Attenuate DNA damage, apoptosis Yang et al. (2016)
Rd PC12 cells, 0.1, 1, 10, 50 or 100 µm GAP-43, ERK1/2, AKT↑ MAPK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways Neurite outgrowth, neuronal repair Wu et al. (2016a)
Rd SD rats, 1, 2.5, and 5 mg/kg MCAO BrdU/DCX, Nestin/GFAP, VEGF, BDNF, pAkt, pERK↑ PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 pathways Neurogenesis Liu et al. (2015)
PC12 cells, 25, 50, and 100 μmol/L OGD
Rd SD rats, 30 and 10 mg/kg Neuron cells, 10 μM MCAO PKB/AKT↑ Attenuates tau protein, reduce sequential cognition impairment Zhang et al. (2014)
OGD ptau, GSK-3β↓ PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway
Rd SD rats, 30 mg/kg MCAO GLT-1, p-PKB/Akt, p-ERK1/2↑ Glutamate clearance Zhang et al. (2013)
Astrocytes, 10 and 50 μM OGD glutamate↓
Rd SD rats, 10 mg/kg MCAO NF-κB p65, PARP-1 ↓ Inflammation, apoptosis Hu et al. (2013)
Rd Hippocampal neurons, 0.1, 1, 10 μM Glutamate-induced Ca2+ Influx, TUNEL and caspase-3↓ Ca2+ Influx Zhang et al. (2012a)
Rd SD rats, 10 mg/kg MCAO ASIC2a↑ Ca2+ Influx Zhang et al. (2012b)
TRPM7, ASIC1a↓
Rd SD rats, 50 mg/kg MCAO ROS, CytoC, AIF↓ Mitochondrial protection, energy restoration, inhibition of apoptosis Ye et al. (2011d)
Rd SD rats, 0.1–200 mg/kg MCAO iNOS and COX-2↓ Oxidative, inflammatory Ye et al. (2011c)
Rd SD rats, 10–50 mg/kg MCAO BBB permeability↑ Wider therapeutic window Ye et al. (2011a)
Rd C57BL/6 mice, 10–50 mg/kg MCAO CAT, SOD2, GPX, GST, GSH/GSSG, complexes I-IV↑ ROS↓ Redox imbalance, oxidative damage, mitochondrial function Ye et al. (2011b)
Rd Cortical neurons, 1, 3, 10, 30 and 60 μM Glutamate-induced caspase 3, Ca2+ influx↓ Apoptosis Li et al. (2010)
Rd Hippocampal neurons, 0.1–10 μM OGD GPX, SOD, CAT↑ MDA, GSH, GSSG, ROS↓ Oxidative stress Ye et al. (2009)
Rb1 0.11 ± 0.02%Park et al. (2013) C57BL/6 mic, 50 mg/kg dMCAO GAP43, BDA, cAMP, PKA, pCREB↑ cAMP/PKA/CREB Pathway Axonal regeneration, motor functional recovery Gao et al. (2020b)
0.29–2.0%Chen et al. (2019b)
Rb1, Rg1 Astrocyte cultures OGD/R CAT, complexes I-V, ATP↑ Mitochondrial oxidative Xu et al. (2019)
Rb1, 2, 5, 10 µM ROS↓
Rg1, 2, 5, 10 µM
Rb1, Rh2, Rg1, Rg3, Rg5, Re PC12 cells Rb1, 50 μg/ml Rh2, 0.5 μg/ml Rg1, 5 μg/ml Rg3, 20 μg/ml Rg5, 100 μg/ml Re, 5 μg/ml CoCl2-induced ROS, TLR4, MyD88, SIRT1, P65, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6↓ Apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential, inflammation Cheng et al. (2019)
Rb1 SD rats, 50 or 100 mg/kg SH-SY5Y cells, 10 μmol/L Microperfusion of Glu and CaCl2 OGD/R P-Akt, P-mTOR↑ P-PTEN↓P-AKT/P-mTOR pathway Neuroprotection, microenvironment Guo et al. (2018)
Rb1 Wistar rats, 50, 10, 200 mg/kg MCAO caspase-3, caspase-9, HMGB1, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, NO↓ Apoptosis, inflammation Liu et al. (2018a)
Rb1 C57BL/6 J mice, 0.5, 1, 5 or 10 mg/kg MCAO GSH↑ Antioxidant Dong et al. (2017)
MDA, NO, ROS, NOX-1, NOX-4, NADPH, pERK1/2↓
Rb1 ICR mice, 5, 20 or 40 mg/kg MCAO MMP-9, NOX-4 ↓ BBB Chen et al. (2015)
Rb1 Microglial cell, 100 μg/ml H2O2-induced TNF-α, NO, O2-↓ Apoptosis Ke et al. (2014)
Rb1 SH-SY5Y cells, 1.0, 10 and 100 µM OGD p-Akt↑ Aautophagy Luo et al. (2014)
LC3II, Beclin1 ↓PI3K/Akt Pathway
Rb1 SD rats, 100 mg/kg MCAO BDNF, GAP-43, NF↑ Neuroprotection Jiang et al. (2013)
IL-1, TNF-α
Rb1 SD rats, 12.5 mg/kg MCAO NF-κB/p65, IKK-α, IκB-α, TNF-α, IL-6↓ Inflammation Zhu et al. (2012)
Rb1 SD rats, 12.5 mg/kg MCAO LC3, Beclin 1↓ Autophagy Lu et al. (2011)
Rb1 Wistar rats, 40 mg/kg MCAO BDNF↑ caspase-3↓ Neurogenesis Gao et al. (2010)
Rb1 Cynomolgus monkeys, 300 μg/kg TSM NeuN↑ Neuroprotection Yoshikawa et al. (2008)
TUNEL, GFAP↓
Rb1 SHR-SP rats, 20 μg/kg MCAO VEGF, Bcl-xL↑ Neuroprotection Sakanaka et al. (2007)
Rb1 Wistar rats, 40 mg/kg MCAO GDNF, Bcl-2↑ bax↓ Apoptotic Yuan et al. (2007)
Rb1 SHR-SP rats, 20 μg/kg MCAO Bcl-xL↑ Apoptotic Zhang et al. (2006)
Rb1 SHR-SP rats, 20 μg/kg MCAO Infarcted area↓ scavenging free radicals neuroprotection Zhang et al. (1998)
Rb1 Mongolian gerbils, 80 μg/kg TFI Hippocampal blood flow↑ scavenging free radicals neuroprotection Lim et al. (1997)
Rg1 0.27 ± 0.04%Park et al. (2013) SD rats, 40 mg/kg MCAO Bcl2 ↑ ER, apoptosis Gu et al. (2020)
0.32–1.55%Chen et al. (2019b) Bax, TUNEL, p-PERK, p-eIF2, ATF4↓ PERK-eIF2-α-ATF4 signaling pathway
Rg1 SD rats, 50 mg/kg MCAO Glycolysis or gluconeogenesis, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism↓ Energy metabolism, amino acids metabolism, lipids metabolism Gao et al. (2020a)
Rg1 SD rats, 20 mg/kg tMCAO OGD/R Nrf2, ARE, HO-1, NQO-1, GCLC, GCLM↑ miR-144 ↓ miR-144/Nrf2/ARE pathway Oxidative stress Chu et al. (2019)
PC12 cells, 0.01–1 μmol/L
Rg1 SD rats, 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg MCAO p-IκBα, P65, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ Inflammation Zheng et al. (2019)
Rg1 C57BL/6 mice,10, 20 or 40 mg/kg hCMEC/D3 cells,0.1–1,000 μM dMCAO OGD BrdU+/CD31+, BrdU+/GFAP+, VEGF, HIF-1α, p-Akt, p-mTOR↑ PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway Angiogenesis Chen et al. (2019a)
Rg1 C57BL/6 mice, 20, 40 mg/kg MCAO BDNF↑ IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, Glu, Asp↓ Neuroprotection Wang et al. (2018b)
Rg1 SD rats, 6 mg/kg BV2, 8 μg/ml MCAO OGD miR-155-5p↓ Neuroprotection Wang et al. (2018a)
Rg1 SD rats, 30 or 60 mg/kg MCAO SOD, CAT, PPARγ Antioxidative, anti-Inflammatory Li et al. (2017a)
Cortical neurons, 30 or 60 μM OGD MPO, TNF-α, IL-6↓
Rg1 NSCs, 0.01–50 µM OGD Bcl-2↑ Apoptosis Li et al. (2017b)
Caspase3, Bax, p-p38, p-JNK2↓
Rg1 SD rats, 40 mg/kg MCAO PAR-1↓ BBB permeability Xie et al. (2015)
Rg1 SD rats, 20, 40 or 60 mg/kg MCAO PPARγ, HO-1, bcl-2↑ caspase-3, caspase-9, IL-1β, TNF-α, HMGB1, RAGE↓ PPARγ/Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling Inflammation, apoptosis Yang et al. (2015)
Rg1 SD rats, 30, 60 mg/kg MCAO Regulate systemic metabolic Neuroprotection Lin et al. (2015)
Rg1 Hippocampal neurons, 5, 20, 60 mM OGD Calcium influx↓ nNOS↑ Neuroprotection He et al. (2014)
Rg1 BALB/c mice, 20 or 40 mg/kg MCAO mitochondrial membrane potential↑ Apoptosis Ca2+ overload Sun et al. (2014)
Astrocytes, 10 µM H2O2-induced Ca2+, ROS↓
Rg1 SD rats, 20 mg/kg MCAO AQP4↓ BBB Zhou et al. (2014)
Rg1 PC12 cells, 0.1–10 uM H2O2- induced Akt, ERK1/2 ↑ p-IkBα, p-IKKβ, p65↓ NF-kB pathway Oxidative stress Liu et al. (2011)
Rg1 SD rats, 20 mg/kg MCAO Ca2+ Neuroprotection Zhang et al. (2008b)
Hippocampal neurons, 110,100 uM OGD NMDA receptors and L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels
Rg1 Mongolian gerbils, 5 and 10 mg/kg MCAO Brdu↑ Neurogenesis cell proliferation Shen and Zhang, (2003)
Rg2 0.06 ± 0.04%Park et al. (2013) SD rats, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg MCAO BCL-2, P53↑ Apoptosis Zhang et al. (2008a)
0.01–0.09%Chen et al. (2019b) BAX, HSP70↓
Rg3 0.05 ± 0.04%Park et al. (2013) SD rats, 20 mg/kg MCAO/R 22 differentially expressed miRNAs 415 differentially expressed mRNAs cGMP-PKG, cAMP and MAPK signaling pathways Neuroprotection Zhang et al. (2022)
0.001–0.003%Chen et al. (2019b)
Rg3 SD rats, 20 mg/kg MCAO/R 239 differentially expressed lncRNAs 538 differentially expressed mRNAs TNF, NF-κB, cytokine, and other receptor signaling pathways Neuroprotection Yang et al. (2022)
Rg3 SH-SY5Y cells, 1, 5, 25, 125 μmol/L OGD/R Bcl-2↑ Apoptosis He et al. (2017)
Bax, cleaved caspase-3↓
Rg3 SD rats, 10 and 20 mg/kg MCAO calpain I, caspase-3, TUNEL↓ Neuroprotection, apoptosis He et al. (2012)
Rg3 Mitochondria, 2–16 μM Ca2+, H2O2 induced ATP, respiratory control ratio ↑ Neuroprotection Tian et al. (2009)
MPTP↓
Rg3 Wistar rats, 10 and 5 mg/kg MCAO MDA, ATP ↑ Lipid peroxides, oxidative stress, energy metabolism Tian et al. (2005)
SOD, GSH-Px ↓
Re 0.22 ± 0.03%Park et al. (2013) SD rats, 5, 10 or 20 mg/kg MCAO MDA, H+ -ATPase↓ decrease mitochondrial swelling Oxidative stress Chen et al. (2008)
0.44–1.2%Chen et al. (2019b)
Re Wistar rats, 5, 10, 20 mg/kg MCAO SOD, GSH-Px↑ Oxidative stress Zhou et al. (2006)
MDA↓
CK PC12 cells, 2, 4, 8 μM OGD/R p-mTOR↑p-AMPK, p62, Atg7, Atg5, LC3II/I↓ AMPK-mTOR pathway Autophagy, apoptosis Huang et al. (2020)
CK C57BL/6 mice, 30 mg/kg MCAO HO-1↑ Anti-inflammation Park et al. (2012)
BV2, 25, 50, 75 μM LPS IL-6, MCP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-9↓ ROS, MAPKs, NF-κB/AP-1, and HO-1/ARE signaling pathways
OA SD rats, 10, 20 mg/kg MCAO Nissl+, NeuN+↑ Antioxidative Lin et al. (2021)
SH-SY5Y cells, 10, 20, and 40 µM OGD/R GSK-3β, HO-1, ROS, TUNEL ↓ GSK-3β/HO-1 pathway
F1 SD rats, 50 mg/kg MCAO MVD, IGF-1/IGF1R↑ IGF-1/IGF1R pathway Angiogenesis, improve focal cerebral blood perfusion Zhang et al. (2019)
Rh2 0.001–0.006%Chen et al. (2019b) BV2, 5, 25 μM LPS and IFN-γ-induced IL-10↑ Inflammation Bae et al. (2006)
NO, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1↓ AP-1 and PKA pathway

KRG, Korean red ginseng; BG, Black ginseng; KGT, Korean ginseng tea; RGE, Red Ginseng Extract; PGE, Panax ginseng extract; GTS, Ginseng total saponins; GTS, Ginseng total saponins; CK, Compound K; OA, Oleanolic acid; HI, Hypoxia-Ischemia; pdMCAO, permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion; tMCAO, transient middle cerebral artery occlusion; MCAO/R, middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion; TGCI, transient global cerebral ischemia; TSM,T hromboembolic stroke model; TFI, transient forebrain ischemia; OGD/R, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation; CCH, chronic cerebral hypoperfusion; NSCs, Neural stem cells; ASK1, apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1; NADPH-d, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-1β, interleukin-1 beta; MDA, malondialdehyde; SOD, superoxide dismutase; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; LPO, lipid peroxidation; GSH, glutathione; GR, glutathione reductase; CAT, catalase; GST, glutathione-S-transferase; Ac-H3, acetylated histone H3; HDAC2, histone deacetylase 2; mtDNA, mitochondrial DNA; ROS, reactive oxygen species; ATP, adenosine triphosphate; HMGB1, High-mobility group box 1; MMP-9, matrix metalloproteinase-9; NOX, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase; HSP70, heat shock protein 70; BBB, blood–brain barrier; ER, endoplasmic reticulum stress; MPTP, mitochondrial permeability transition pore; MVD, microvessel density.