1.Three new dammarane glycosides from heat processed ginseng.
Park IH1, Kim NY, Han SB, Kim JM, Kwon SW, Kim HJ, Park MK, Park JH. Arch Pharm Res. 2002 Aug;25(4):428-32.
Three new dammarane glycosides were isolated from the processed ginseng (SG; Sun Ginseng). Their structure were determined to be 3beta,12beta-dihydroxydammar-20(21),24-diene-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1 --> 2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside; 3beta,12beta-dihydroxydammar-20(21),24-diene-3-O-beta-D- glucopyranoside and 3beta,6alpha,12beta-trihydroxydammar-20(21),24-diene-6-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside based on spectroscopic evidences. The compounds were named as ginsenoside Rk1, Rk2, and Rk3 respectively.
2.Metabolism of ginsenosides Rk₃ and Rh₄ from steamed notoginseng in zebrafish by ultraperformance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
Chen B1, Wei Y, Wang D, Jia X. Arch Pharm Res. 2015 Aug;38(8):1468-76. doi: 10.1007/s12272-014-0538-7. Epub 2014 Dec 30.
In this work, the metabolite profiles of ginsenosides Rk3 and Rh4 from steamed notoginseng in zebrafish were qualitatively investigated, and their possible metabolic pathways were subsequently proposed. Metabolites of ginsenosides Rk3 and Rh4 after exposing to zebrafish for 24 h were identified by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography/Quadrupole -Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-TOF/MS). The separation was performed with a UPLC BEH C18 column using a binary gradient elution of 0.1 % formic acetonitrile -0.1 % formic acid water. The quasi-molecular ions of compounds were detected in negative mode. According to the quasi-molecular ions and MS2 spectra, after comparison with reference standards, molecular mass information and the potential structures about metabolites of ginsenosides Rk3 and Rh4 were obtained. In all, 5 and 6 metabolites of ginsenoside Rk3 and Rh4 including M1(M6), M2(M7), M3-M5 and N1, N2(N7), N3-N6 were identified in zebrafish respectively, which were to our knowledge reported for the first time.
3.Ginsenoside RK3 Prevents Hypoxia-Reoxygenation Induced Apoptosis in H9c2 Cardiomyocytes via AKT and MAPK Pathway.
Sun J1, Sun G, Meng X, Wang H, Wang M, Qin M, Ma B, Luo Y, Yu Y, Chen R, Ai Q, Sun X. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:690190. doi: 10.1155/2013/690190. Epub 2013 Jun 27.
Reperfusion therapy is widely utilized for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but further injury induced by rapidly initiating reperfusion of the heart is often encountered in clinical practice. Ginsenoside RK3 (RK3) is reportedly present in the processed Radix notoginseng that is often used as a major ingredient of the compound preparation for ischemic heart diseases. This study aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of RK3 against hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) induced H9c2 cardiomyocytes damage and its underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that RK3 pretreatment caused increased cell viability and decreased levels of LDH leakage compared with the H/R group. Moreover, RK3 pretreatment inhibited cell apoptosis, as evidenced by decreased caspase-3 activity, TUNEL-positive cells, and Bax expression, as well as increased Bcl-2 level. Further mechanism investigation revealed that RK3 prevented H9c2 cardiomyocytes injury and apoptosis induced by H/R via AKT/Nrf-2/HO-1 and MAPK pathways.
4.Quantification of ginsenosides Rh4 and Rk3 in rat plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: application to a pre-clinical pharmacokinetic study.
Patel DN1, Lin HS, Koh HL. J Mass Spectrom. 2012 Nov;47(11):1510-7. doi: 10.1002/jms.3095.
Ginsenoside Rh4 (Rh4) and ginsenoside Rk3 (Rk3) are two active substances isolated from the processed Panax species. To further explore their potential medicinal application, a reliable liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (LC/MS/MS) was developed and validated for the quantification of Rh4 and Rk3 in rat plasma. Multiple ion monitoring and multiple reaction monitoring experiments were performed in negative ionization mode. This LC/MS/MS method had good selectivity, sensitivity (lower limit of quantification = 10 ng/mL), precision (intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation ≤ 10.1) and accuracy (analytical recovery within 100 ± 10%). The pharmacokinetic profiles of Rh4 and Rk3 were subsequently assessed in Sprague-Dawley rats. Similar to many other ginsenosides, the oral bioavailability of Rh4 and Rk3 was unfavorable, and Rh4 and Rk3 did not have any measurable plasma exposure after oral administration (20 mg/kg). Fortunately, upon intravenous administration (5 mg/kg), both Rh4 and Rk3 possessed abundant plasma exposure, moderate clearance (Cl = 50.