Inhibitory Effects of the Korean Red Ginseng Extract on the Content of Neurotransmitter - Related Components of the Mouse Brain in Convulsion - induced Model

− Treatment of mice with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) changed glutamic acid and GABA content in the mouse brain tissue with pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced convulsion. KRG were orally administered at a dose of 50, 100 mg/kg for two weeks. The electroconvulsions (MES) and PTZ-induced convulsion were reduced but those induced by strychnine, bicuculine and picrotoxin were not. PTZ-induced convulsion decreased the ãaminobutyric acid (GABA) content in brain compared to control group while the content was increased in KRGtreated group compared to PTZ group. In the PTZ-treated group, the GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) activity was increased by 59.6%, while no effect was observed on glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) activity. These results support that the KRG decreased the GABA contents and modulated the glutamic acid contents in the brain.