Effect of Korea red ginseng on cerebral blood flow and superoxide production.

AIM To investigate the effects of Korea red ginseng (KRG) on the cerebral perfusion rate in the rats and the generation of superoxide anion in the endothelial cells. METHODS The cerebral perfusion rate was measured using laser-doppler flowmetry before and after the administration of crude saponin (CS) and saponin-free fraction (SFF) of KRG in the anesthetized rats. The superoxide generation was measured by the method based on lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence in the cultured endothelial cells. RESULTS The relative cerebral perfusion rate (rCBF) was significantly increased by the intraperitoneal injection of CS (100 mg/kg) in the rats, but SFF had no effect on the rCBF. Chronic treatment with CS for 7 d significantly inhibited the decrease of forebrain cerebral blood flow induced by clamping both carotid arteries in the rats. Furthermore, CS (0.1 g/L) significantly suppressed NADPH-induced superoxide generation in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (P <0.01). CONCLUSION The present study demonstrated that crude saponin fraction of KRG enhanced cerebral blood flow in rats. Furthermore, crude saponin fraction of KRG abrogated the NADPH-driven superoxide generation in endothelial cells.