Recent progress (2015-2020) in the investigation of the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of ginsenoside Rb1, a main active ingredient in Panax ginseng Meyer

Zuan Lin; Rongfang Xie; Chenhui Zhong; Jianyong Huang; Peiying Shi; Hong Yao

doi:10.1016/j.jgr.2021.07.008

Recent progress (2015-2020) in the investigation of the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of ginsenoside Rb₁, a main active ingredient in Panax ginseng Meyer

J Ginseng Res. 2022 Jan;46(1):39-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2021.07.008. Epub 2021 Jul 30.

Authors

Zuan Lin¹, Rongfang Xie¹, Chenhui Zhong¹, Jianyong Huang², Peiying Shi³, Hong Yao^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
² Department of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
³ Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resource and Bee Products, College of Animal Sciences (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
⁴ Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Nano Biomedical Technology of Fujian Province, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
⁵ Fujian Key Laboratory of Drug Target Discovery and Structural and Functional Research, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.

Abstract

Ginsenoside Rb₁ (Rb₁), one of the most important ingredients in Panax ginseng Meyer, has been confirmed to have favorable activities, including reducing antioxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation, regulating cell autophagy and apoptosis, affecting sugar and lipid metabolism, and regulating various cytokines. This study reviewed the recent progress on the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of Rb₁ against cardiovascular and nervous system diseases, diabetes, and their complications, especially those related to neurodegenerative diseases, myocardial ischemia, hypoxia injury, and traumatic brain injury. This review retrieved articles from PubMed and Web of Science that were published from 2015 to 2020. The molecular targets or pathways of the effects of Rb₁ on these diseases are referring to HMGB1, GLUT4, 11β-HSD1, ERK, Akt, Notch, NF-κB, MAPK, PPAR-γ, TGF-β1/Smad pathway, PI3K/mTOR pathway, Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, Nrf2/ARE pathway, and MAPK/NF-κB pathway. The potential effects of Rb₁ and its possible mechanisms against diseases were further predicted via Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and disease ontology semantic and enrichment (DOSE) analyses with the reported targets. This study provides insights into the therapeutic effects of Rb₁ and its mechanisms against diseases, which is expected to help in promoting the drug development of Rb₁ and its clinical applications.

Keywords: Effect mechanism; Ginsenoside Rb1; Perspectives; Pharmacological effect.

Publication types

Review