Key result
Ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 protect erythrocyte rheology against oxidative stress by preventing band 3 oxidation.
Why the study?
The mechanisms by which Panax ginseng extract improves microcirculation are still poorly understood.
Do ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 protect erythrocyte rheological functions against oxidative stress?
Do ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 protect erythrocyte rheological functions against oxidative stress?
Ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 protect erythrocyte rheological functions against oxidative stress by preventing the oxidation of SH-groups in band 3 protein.
Ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 merit human validation studies; animal data leaves open any clinical role in erythrocyte protection during oxidative stress.
The extract from Panax ginseng has been reported to improve the microcirculation in various organs. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still poorly understood. In the present study, using the rheological properties of erythrocytes as an index, we have screened the components of Panax ginseng extract and identified Rg(2) and Rh(1) as the active ingredients. These two ginsenosides prevented the oxidative stress-induced elevation of erythrocyte suspension viscosity and the impairment of erythrocyte elongation in response to shear stress. Rg(2) and Rh(1) ginsenosides did not have antioxidant activity in an aqueous phase and did not inhibit the peroxidation of membrane lipids, either. However, they inhibited the oxidation-induced decrease of SH-groups in band 3 (anion exchanger-1), one of the important structural proteins of the erythrocyte membrane, but not in other structural proteins: bands 1 and 2 (spectrins), band 4.2 or band 5 (actin). These results suggest that ginsenosides Rg(2) and Rh(1) protect the rheological functions of erythrocytes against oxidative stress by preventing the oxidation of SH-groups in band 3 protein.
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Samukawa et al. (2008) studied Oxidation-induced impairment of erythrocyte membrane properties. Ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 was evaluated on Rheological properties of erythrocytes (suspension viscosity and elongation). Ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1 protected the rheological functions of erythrocytes against oxidative stress by preventing the oxidation of SH-groups in band 3 protein.
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