notoginseng, cultivated in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in China, represent the three most extensively investigated species. quinquefolium L (American ginseng), grown in southern Canada and the US and P. Meyer (Araliaceae), cultivated in China, Korea, Japan, Russia, and the US, P. Currently, twelve species have been identified in the genus Panax (Table 1). Ginseng is a deciduous perennial plant that belongs to the Araliaceae family. Ginseng is now one of the most popular herbal medicines used nutraceutically with an annual sale of over USD 200 million. Ginseng has been used as a general tonic or adaptogen for promoting longevity especially in the Far East, especially China, Korea and Japan. In the 18th century, the effectiveness of ginseng was recognized in the West, and subsequently, a large number of investigations were conducted on its botany, chemistry, pharmacology and therapeutic applications. Its medicinal efficacy was first documented in Shengnong Bencao Jing and it was later summarized by Li Shizhen in Bencao Gangmu and Zhongyao Zhi (Chinese Materia Medica) by People's Health Publishing House, Beijing, published in 15 respectively. Thus it is also referred to as the lord or king of herbs. Actually the term 'ginseng' represents two Chinese ideograms: 'gin' (pronounced ren) refers to 'man' and 'seng' (pronounced shen) refers to 'essence' It is believed to embody man's three mythical essences – body, mind and spirit. The herbal root is named ginseng because it is shaped like a man. Literally ' Panax' can be translated as 'cure-all' or panacea. 'Pan' means 'all' and 'axos' means 'cure'. The genus name ' Panax' was derived from Greek. Meyer, a precious Chinese traditional medicinal herb, has been known clinically used in China for thousands of years. These findings may also lead to development of more efficacious ginseng-derived therapeutics for angiogenesis-related diseases. These lines of evidence support that the interaction between ginsenosides and various nuclear steroid hormone receptors may explain the diverse pharmacological activities of ginseng. Recent work has demonstrates the target molecules of ginsenosides to be a group of nuclear steroid hormone receptors. Ginsenosides and Panax ginseng extracts have been shown to exert protective effects on vascular dysfunctions, such as hypertension, atherosclerotic disorders and ischemic injury. Rg 3 and Rh 2) have been demonstrated in various models of tumor and endothelial cells, indicating that ginsenosides with opposing activities are present in ginseng. By contrast, the anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic effects of ginsenosides (e.g. These gene products may interact in a hierarchical cascade pattern to modulate cell architectural dynamics which is concomitant to the observed phenomena in angiogenesis. By means of DNA microarray, a group of genes related to cell adhesion, migration and cytoskeleton were found to be up-regulated in endothelial cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that such responses were mediated through the PI3K→Akt pathway. Rg 1 was later found to stimulate angiogenesis through augmenting the production of nitric oxide (NO) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The 'Yin and Yang' action of ginseng on angiomodulation was paralleled by the experimental data showing angiogenesis was indeed related to the compositional ratio between ginsenosides Rg 1 and Rb 1. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in the study of ginsenosides on angiogenesis which is related to many pathological conditions including tumor progression and cardiovascular dysfunctions.Īngiogenesis in the human body is regulated by two sets of counteracting factors, angiogenic stimulators and inhibitors. Most of the pharmacological actions of ginseng are attributed to one type of its constituents, namely the ginsenosides. It has also been claimed to be effective in combating stress, fatigue, oxidants, cancer and diabetes mellitus. Meyer) has long been used as a general tonic or an adaptogen to promote longevity and enhance bodily functions. In Chinese medicine, ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A.
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