Preventive effects of Korean red ginseng on experimentally induced colitis and colon carcinogenesis

Hoon-Jeong Shin; Do-Hee Kim; Xiancai Zhong; Hye-Won Yum; Su-Jung Kim; Kyung-Soo Chun; Hye-Kyung Na; Young-Joon Surh

doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2020.04.004

Preventive effects of Korean red ginseng on experimentally induced colitis and colon carcinogenesis

J Tradit Complement Med. 2020 Apr 25;10(3):198-206. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2020.04.004. eCollection 2020 May.

Authors

Hoon-Jeong Shin¹, Do-Hee Kim², Xiancai Zhong³, Hye-Won Yum³, Su-Jung Kim³, Kyung-Soo Chun⁴, Hye-Kyung Na⁵, Young-Joon Surh^{1

3

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
² Department of Chemistry, College of Convergence and Integrated Science, Kyonggi University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
³ Tumor Microenvironment Research Center, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁴ College of Pharmacy, Keimyung University, Daegu, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, College of Knowledge-based Services Engineering, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁶ Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) exerts chemopreventive effects on experimentally induced carcinogenesis through multiple mechanisms. In this study, we investigated effects of KRG on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and azoxymethane (AOM) plus DSS-induced colon carcinogenesis in mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed diet containing 1% KRG or a standard diet throughout the experiment. The mouse colitis was induced by administration of 3% DSS in drinking water for 1 week. DSS caused body weight loss, diarrhea, rectal bleeding and colon length shortening, and all these symptoms were ameliorated by KRG treatment. KRG inhibited DSS-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) by suppressing activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activation of transcription 3 (STAT3). In another experiment, colon carcinogenesis was initiated by single intraperitoneal injection of AOM (10 mg/kg) and promoted by 2% DSS in drinking water. KRG administration relieved the symptoms of colitis and reduced the incidence, the multiplicity and the size of colon tumor. The up-regulation of COX-2, iNOS, c-Myc and Cyclin D1 by AOM plus DSS was attenuated in KRG fed mice which was associated with suppression of NF-κB and STAT3 activation. These results suggest that KRG is a potential candidate for chemoprevention of inflammation-associated cancer in the colon.

Keywords: Colitis; Colon cancer; Cyclooxygenase-2; Korean red ginseng; NF-κB; STAT3.