Pharmacological effects of ginseng in the immune system

The pharmacological effects of ginseng are mostly used therapeutically, ie, metabolites (such as ginsenosides) that affect a living system in order to treat a certain condition. There are several applications of ginsenosides in treatments of diseases and human conditions. Among them are anticancer effects, antidiabetics, antioxidants, among many others. 

Here are some areas where ginseng exerts its positive effects:

• Immunity system

Also certain activities of the immune system benefit from the presence of pharmacological compounds of ginseng (Kim et al., 2013), such as phagocytic, antibacterial and antiviral. Macrophages increase phagocytic activity and nitric oxide production (NO), produced to destroy phagocytized organisms / compounds, in the presence of ginseng extracts (Shin et al., 2002). Some Ginseng polysaccharides, such as PG-F2 and PG-HMV, are able to prevent the infectious process by microbes by disrupting their cell adhesion process (Lee et al., 2009). The antiviral effect was also shown to be efficient in the effect of Avian Influenza H9N2 through protopanaxatriol (which reduces stress caused by reactive oxygen species) and Re (which decreases DNA damage) (Chan et al., 2011).

• Antioxidant

The antioxidant effect of ginseng is characterized by the production (or increase) of the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GPX and NO, for example), or by blocking ROS production through Rb1 (proven in cases of induction of endothelial dysfunction) (Fu Ji, 2003; Zhou et al., 2005; Lü et al., 2010). The structure of the ginsenoside is very important for this purpose. 20 (S) -protopanaxadiol or 20 (S) -protopanaxatriol may behave as antioxidants or pro-oxidants, depending on whether or not a glucose is bound. Behave as an antioxidant if binding to position 20, such as Re, Rd and R1 or to position 6 as Rh1. (Liu et al., 2002).