Red Ginseng Improves Exercise Endurance by Promoting Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Myoblast Differentiation.

Red ginseng has been reported to elicit various therapeutic effects relevant to cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammatory diseases. However, the effect of red ginseng on exercise endurance and skeletal muscle function remains unclear. Herein, we sought to investigate whether red ginseng could affect exercise endurance and examined its molecular mechanism. Mice were fed with red ginseng extract (RG) and undertook swimming exercises to determine the time to exhaustion. Animals fed with RG had significantly longer swimming endurance. RG treatment was also observed to enhance ATP production levels in myoblasts. RG increased mRNA expressions of mitochondrial biogenesis regulators, NRF-1, TFAM, and PGC-1α, which was accompanied by an elevation in mitochondrial DNA, suggesting an enhancement in mitochondrial energy-generating capacity. Importantly, RG treatment induced phosphorylation of p38 and AMPK and upregulated PGC1α expression in both myoblasts and in vivo muscle tissue. In addition, RG treatment also stimulated C2C12 myogenic differentiation. Our findings show that red ginseng improves exercise endurance, suggesting that it may have applications in supporting skeletal muscle function and exercise performance.

Hypocholesterolemic activity of Bifidobacteria isolated from a healthy Korean.

This study was undertaken to investigate the hypocholesterolemic activity of Bifidobacteria (B. breve K-110, B. breve K-111, and B. infantis K-525) isolated from a healthy Korean. The administration of B. breve K-110 and K-111 with a high cholesterol diet significantly protected the increase of serum total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol relative to that of a high cholesterol diet alone. Such a diet supplemented with 0.5% B. breve K-111 decreased serum total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol to 57 and 55%, respectively. The administration of Bifidobacteria also significantly inhibited the lipid-deposited surface in the aorta. The normalizing activity of serum cholesterol level in cholesterolemic rats was accelerated by Bifidobacteria. The normalizing activity of B. breve K-111 on serum cholesterol level was superior to that of B. breve K-110. These results suggest that Bifidobacteria in the human intestine play a role in the prophylactics of arteriosclerosis.

Morphological characteristics of korean dried ginseng products.

The purpose of this study was to determine a standard quality characteristic through the evaluation and statistical analysis of the morphological characteristics of dried ginseng (white ginseng) products. Samples of 4-year-old 30 and 50 piece grade curved ginseng and 5-year-old 25 and 15 piece grade straight ginseng products were collected from a market, with 5 to 10 packs of each product being collected annually over a 5-year period (2006-2010). Morphological characteristics, such as weight, length, diameter, and surface color, were measured and statistically analyzed to present a standard quality characteristic value using mean±3SD, a range that excluded outlier. The 4-year-old curved ginseng samples of 50 and 30 piece grade were 4.80 to 6.12 cm and 5.28 to 7.60 cm long, 0.22 to 1.70 cm and 0.21 to 2.07 cm wide, and weighed 5.28 to 7.40 g and 8.62 to 12.26 g, respectively. The 5-year-old straight ginseng samples of 25 and 15 piece grade were 9.66 to 15.47 cm and 10.66 to 16.80 cm long, 1.32 to 1.94 cm and 1.48 to 2.43 cm wide, and weighed 9.18 to 16.40 g and 15.89 to 24.82 g, respectively. The surface color of the different piece grades in the same type of dried ginseng product was similar, whereas the straight ginseng demonstrated a lower level of brightness, but the relative redness and yellowness were of higher levels, than that of curved ginseng.