WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants - travolekar.ru

<strong>WHO</strong> <strong>monographs</strong> on selected medicinal plants
trast, a methanol extract containing ginsenosides (but no polysaccharides),
and pure ginsenoside-Rb1 were not active. Significant TNF- stimulating
activity was found in the extractable polysaccharide fraction (24).
The effect of an aqueous extract of the powdered root, containing
mainly oligosaccharides and polysaccharides was assessed for immune
stimulatory activity in murine spleen cells and peritoneal macrophages.
The extract (5.0–500.0 μg/ml) stimulated the proliferation of normal
mouse spleen cells, primarily B lymphocytes. The extract activated peritoneal
exudate macrophages leading to enhanced production of interleukin-1,
interleukin-6, TNF- and nitric oxide (35).
Neurological effects
The neuroprotective effects of a hot aqueous extract of the root (no further
description available) on sodium channels were assessed, as neuronal
damage during ischaemic episodes has been associated with abnormal sodium
fluxes. An aqueous extract of the root was evaluated in tsA201 cells
transfected with cDNA expressing alpha subunits of the brain (2a) sodium
channel using the whole-cell patch clamp technique. The extract
(3.0 mg/ml) tonically and reversibly blocked the sodium channel in a concentration-
and voltage-dependent manner. It shifted the voltage-dependence
of inactivation by 14 mV (3.0 mg/ml) in the hyperpolarizing direction
and delayed recovery from inactivation, whereas activation of the
channel was unaffected. Ginsenoside Rb1, a major constituent of the extract,
produced similar effects at a concentration of 150 μM (36).
Brainstem neurons receiving subdiaphragmatic vagal inputs were recorded
in an in vitro neonatal rat brainstem–gastric preparation. Aqueous
extracts of the root were added to the gastric compartment or to the brainstem
compartment of the bath chamber to evaluate the peripheral gut and
central brain effects of the extracts on brainstem unitary activity. After
addition of the extract (30.0 μg/ml) to the gastric or brainstem compartment,
a concentration-related inhibition of neuronal discharge frequency
in the brainstem unitary activity (38.2%, p < 0.01) was observed, suggesting
that extract may play an important role in regulating the digestive
process and modulating brain function (37). In a subsequent study, the
pharmacological effects of P. quinquefolius cultivated in Wisconsin and of
P. quinquefolius cultivated in Illinois were compared. The results showed
that P. quinquefolius cultivated in Illinois had both a stronger peripheral
gastric and a stronger central brain modulating effect on brainstem neuronal
activity. The data indicated that this discrepancy was due to a different
ginsenoside profile (38).
In a formalin-induced nociception test, mice were force-fed an aqueous
extract of the roots for 4 days. Another group of mice were fed with
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