1. Academic Validation
  2. Ginsenoside Rk1 bioactivity: a systematic review

Ginsenoside Rk1 bioactivity: a systematic review

  • PeerJ. 2017 Nov 17;5:e3993. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3993.
Abdelrahman Elshafay 1 Ngo Xuan Tinh 2 Samar Salman 3 Yara Saber Shaheen 4 Eman Bashir Othman 5 Mohamed Tamer Elhady 6 Aswin Ratna Kansakar 7 Linh Tran 8 Le Van 2 Kenji Hirayama 9 Nguyen Tien Huy 10 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
  • 2 Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.
  • 3 Tanta University Hospital, Tanta, Egypt.
  • 4 Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
  • 5 Department of Medicine, Tripoli Central Hospital, Tripoli, Libya.
  • 6 Department of Pediatrics, Zagazig University Hospitals, Sharkia, Egypt.
  • 7 Dirghayu Guru Hospital and Research Center, Kathmandu, Nepal.
  • 8 Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam.
  • 9 Department of Immunogenetics, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
  • 10 Evidence Based Medicine Research Group & Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
  • 11 Department of Clinical Product Development, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Leading Graduate School Program, and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Abstract

Ginsenoside Rk1 (G-Rk1) is a unique component created by processing the ginseng plant (mainly Sung Ginseng (SG)) at high temperatures. The aim of our study was to systematically review the pharmacological effects of G-Rk1. We utilized and manually searched eight databases to select in vivo and in vitro original studies that provided information about biological, pharmaceutical effects of G-Rk1 and were published up to July 2017 with no restriction on language or study design. Out of the 156 papers identified, we retrieved 28 eligible papers in the first skimming phase of research. Several articles largely described the G-Rk1 anti-cancer activity investigating "cell viability", "cell proliferation inhibition", "apoptotic activity", and "effects of G-Rk1 on G1 phase and Autophagy in tumor cells" either alone or in combination with G-Rg5. Others proved that it has antiplatelet aggregation activities, anti-inflammatory effects, anti-insulin resistance, nephroprotective effect, antimicrobial effect, cognitive function enhancement, lipid accumulation reduction and prevents osteoporosis. In conclusion, G-Rk1 has a significant anti-tumor effect on liver Cancer, melanoma, lung Cancer, cervical Cancer, colon Cancer, pancreatic Cancer, gastric Cancer, and breast adenocarcinoma against in vitro cell lines. In vivo experiments are further warranted to confirm these effects.

Keywords

Clinical pharmacology; Ginsenoside; Rk1; Systematic review.

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