Treatment with Panax Ginseng Antagonizes the Estrogen Decline in Ovariectomized Mice

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Ying Xu²  Jie Ding²  Xiao-Ping Ma²  Ying-Hui Ma¹  Zhi-Qiang Liu¹ 

[1] Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Renmin Road 5625, Changchun 130022, China; E-Mails:;Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Dongcheng District, Dongzhimen Nanxiao Road 16, Beijing 100700, China; E-Mails:

关键词: ginseng;    estrogenic activity;    uterus;    vagina;    ER α;    ER β;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms15057827

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Ginseng is a popular herb for alleviating menopausal symptoms; however, no conclusive scientific data has shown ginseng as being efficient in such therapies. The present study was designed to evaluate the estrogenic efficacy of ginseng on reproductive target tissues of ovariectomized (OVX) mice. The OVX mice were treated with ginseng at doses of 12.0, 18.0 and 24.0 g/kg per day for four weeks. Ginseng treatments restored the estrus cycle and demonstrated significant estrogenic activity, as indicated by the reversal of the atrophy of the uterus and vagina, upregulation of estrogen receptor (ER) α and ER β expression at the protein and mRNA level in the reproductive tissues, where ER α upregulation was stronger than that of ER β. Meanwhile, treatment with ginseng significantly increased adrenal gland weight and serum estradiol and clearly decreased follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in circulation. Notably, the largest changes in these parameters were found at the highest dose of 24.0 g/kg. Moreover, ginseng at 18.0 g/kg resulted in the greatest decrease in weight gain caused by ovariectomy. The data suggest that ginseng estrogenic responses show tissue variation that reflects different affinities of ERs for ginseng components. This study demonstrates that ginseng activity is mediated through estrogenic components and provides further evidence for ginseng treatment of postmenopausal symptoms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland