Arch Pharm Res. 2002 Feb; 25(1): 71-6.

Epidermis proliferative effect of the Panax ginseng ginsenoside Rb2.

Choi S.

Department of Pharmacology, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Korea. choiswsw@hotmail.com

Ginseng has been used as a traditional medicine with various therapeutic effects. However, it is still unknown which component of this plant is effective at promoting wound healing. Recently, ginsenoside Rb2 has been reported to improve wound healing. In this study, to investigate the reported wound healing effect of the ginsenoside Rb2, cell morphology and protein factors involved in epidermal formation were evaluated by immunochemical and immunoblotting analysis. Rb2 stimulated epidermal cell proliferation, and the cell showed a 1.5-fold increase in thymidine uptake compared to the control (p<0.05, n=3). Furtheremore, Rb2 was found to stimulate epidermis formation in a dose-dependent manner in raft culture, and to dose dependently enhance the expressions of protein factors related to cell proliferation, namely, epidermal growth factor and its receptor, fibronectin and its receptor, keratin 5/14, and collagenase I (p<0.05, n=3-9). It is believed that ginsenoside Rb2 enhances epidermal cell proliferation by upregulating the expressions of these proliferation-related factors.