Evaluation of corticosterone secretion-inducing activities of ginsenosides and their prosapogenins and sapogenins.

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Abstract
Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re and Rg1 (GRb1, GRb2 and so on) isolated from the roots of Panax ginseng and their 20S- and 20R-prosapogenins (S-PS and R-PS), 20S- and 20R-protopanaxadiols (S-PPD and R-PPD), and a mixture of 20S- and 20R-panaxadiols (SR-PD) at various doses were administered to rats i.p. Plasma corticosterone and glucose levels at 30 min after the administration were determined, and ED50 values for corticosterone level were estimated. The ED50 values of GRd, GRb2, GRc and GRb1 were 7.1, 20, 44 and 112 .mu.mol/kg, respectively. ED50 of S-PS, the genuine prosapogenin of GRb1, GRb2, GRc and GRd, which has no sugar residue attached to the C-20 position, was 28 .mu.mol/kg, and the artifact prosapogenin R-PS also showed nearly the same activity, 26 .mu.mol/kg. The ED50 values of genuine and artifact sapogenins S- and R-PPD were 42 and 32 .mu.mol/kg, respectively, but an epimeric mixture of 2 artifact sapogenins SR-PD showed no activity at a dose of 80 .mu.mol/kg. The ED50 values of GRe and GRg1, glycosides of 20S-protopanaxatriol, were 107 and > 160 .mu.mol/kg, respectively. Most of these 11 compounds did not significantly affect the plasma glucose level at 30 min after the treatment.