Ginsenosides: A Potential Neuroprotective Agent

Table 1

Pharmacological activity and mechanism of ginsenosides on epilepsy, depression, and cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.

Pharmacological effects	Ginsenosides	Mechanism	References
Antiepilepsy	Total ginsenosides	Adenosine receptor ↓	[21]
	Rg3	NMDA receptor-mediated; Ca^2+ ↓	[20]
Antidepressant-like effects	Rg1	PKA and CREB phosphorylation,; the expression of BDNF, hippocampal neurogenesis ↑	[31, 32]
	Total ginsenosides	IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IDO ↓; ACTH, CORT ↑	[35, 36]
	Rb1	5-H receptors ↑	[34]
	Rb3	BDNF levels ↑ 5-HT ↑↓	[28]
	Re	BDNF mRNA expression ↑; TH, CRF ↓	[27]
	CK	5-H receptors, NA↑; ACTH, corticosterone level ↓	[29, 34]
	Rg3	BDNF signaling pathway, NA↑; ACTH, corticosterone level ↓	[29, 30]
Protection against cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury	Rg1	Bcl-2, Trx-1, SOD-1, PKB/Akt,; p-NF-kB p65, HSP70 ↑; Bax, aquaporin 4 expression, IL-1β, TNF-α, HMGB1, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9, RAGE, PAR-1,; Ca^2+ overload, NF-kB,; JAK1/STAT1 signal pathways↓	[37–42]
	Rb1	MDA, NF-kβ,; JAK1/STAT1 signal pathways,; TNF-α, IL-6, LC3, Beclin 1↓ Trx-1, SOD-1, PKB/Akt, HSP70 ↑	[42–45]
	Rd	VEGF, BDNF,; PI3K/Akt, ERK1/2 pathways ↑; phosphorylation of NMDAR 2B subunit ↓	[46, 47]
	Re	MDA ↓H^+-ATPase ↑	[48]
	Rg3	Calpain I, caspase-3 ↓	[49]