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Korean red ginseng extract alleviates atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E knockout mice

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Abstract

This study was to evaluate the anti-atherosclerotic effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) in apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE KO) mice. Female ApoE KO mice were divided into 2 groups and were treated via intragastric inoculation for 21 weeks. The body weight increased gradually in both the KRG extract inoculation group and the control group inoculated with saline. Plaque lesion areas in the aortic sinus were reduced largely in the KRG inoculation group than in the control group. Triglyceride and inflammatory cytokines such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were significantly reduced in the KRG inoculation group. Additionally, the KRG inoculation group showed significantly lower cardiovascular inflammation by 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography compared to that in the control group. Taken together, KRG alleviates atherosclerotic lesions through MCP-1 and TNF-α suppression. These results suggest that KRG could be a valuable therapeutic strategy for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, Korea

    Eui-Suk Jeong, Jin-Hee Seo, Ran Ji Yoo & Yang-Kyu Choi

  2. Laboratory Animal Facility, Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Seoul, 139-706, Korea

    Jin-Hee Seo

  3. Molecular Imaging Research Center, Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Seoul, 139-706, Korea

    Ran Ji Yoo, Yong Jin Lee & Joo Hyun Kang

  4. Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, 143-701, Korea

    Seung-Yeol Nah

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  1. Eui-Suk Jeong
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  2. Jin-Hee Seo
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  3. Ran Ji Yoo
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Correspondence to Yang-Kyu Choi.

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Jeong, ES., Seo, JH., Yoo, R.J. et al. Korean red ginseng extract alleviates atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E knockout mice. Food Sci Biotechnol 23, 1267–1272 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-014-0174-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-014-0174-5

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