J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2010 May;51(5):733-739.

Analysis of the Effective Fraction of Sun Ginseng Extract in Selenite Induced Cataract Rat Model

• Lee SM
• Sun JM
• Jeong JH
• Kim MK
• Wee WR
• Park JH
• Lee JH

Abstract

PURPOSE
To compare the protective effects of saponin and non-saponin Sun-ginseng extract fractions in a selenite-induced rat cataract model.
METHODS
A total of 101 Sprague-Dawley rat pups were divided into four groups by treatment: Sun-ginseng, saponin fraction, non-saponin fraction, and control. For induction of cataracts, sodium selenite 15 nmol/g was injected subcutaneously in 13 day-old rat pups. Sun-ginseng extract 100 microgram/g (Group I, Ginseng Science, Seoul, Korea), saponin fraction 100 microgram/g (Group II), non-saponin fraction 100 microgram/g (Group III), and phosphate buffered saline (Control group) were injected intraperitoneally every two days for a total of seven injections. The rats were sacrified and their lenses were dissected and photographed at day 7 and 14, and the cataracts were graded according to the ratio of the cataract area to the total lens area. The blind method was used for the evaluation of the cataract area.
RESULTS
At day 14, cataract formation rates (CFR) were 33.3% in group I, 76.4% in group II, 41.2% in group III, and 77.7% in the control group. The mean cataract area (MCA) was 13.4+/-20.8% in group I, 14.4+/-11.7% in group II, 5.7+/-7.7% in group III, and 15.8+/-12.1% in the control group. Group III showed statistically significant results compared with those of control group (CFR p=0.001, MCA p=0.001). We observed significantly lower incidence and smaller mean cataract area in Group I and Group III at day 7 compared with the control group (Group I, CFR p=0.018; Group III, CFR p=0.032, MCA p=0.005).
CONCLUSIONS
The protective effects of Sun-ginseng extract are caused by the components in the non-saponin fraction, not by those in the saponin fraction, in a selenite-induced cataract rat model.

Keyword

Cataract; Rat; Saponin; Selenite; Sun ginseng

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cataract
Incidence
Panax
Rats
Saponins
Sodium Selenite
Solar System
Saponins
Sodium Selenite

Figure

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  Figure 1. The methods of image analysis for lens area measurement. The cataractous lens area and total lens area was analyzed 2-dimensionally on photos of dissected lens using NIH ImageJ software.

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  Figure 2. The protective effect of components of ginseng extract in selenite-induced cataract in the rat model. (A) Proportion according to the cataract grade at 1 week after sodium selenite injection. Numbers show total numbers of eyes in each grade. Ginseng group (Group I, p=0.018) and Non-saponin group (Group III, p=0.032) showed lower cataract grade significantly compared with the control group using chi-squre test. (B) Proportion according to the cataract grade at 2 week after sodium selenite injection. Numbers show total numbers of eyes in each grade. Ginseng group (p=0.064) showed borderline difference but Non-saponin group (p=0.001) showed significantly lower cataract grade compared with the control group using chi-squre test. Ginseng: ginseng (sun-sam) extract 100 μg/g every other day injection group; Saponin: saponin component of ginseng extract 100 μg/g every other day injection group; Non-saponin: non-saponin component of ginseng extract 100 μg/g every other day injection group; Control (positive control): PBS every other day injection group. Asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance compared with control group.

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  Figure 3. The mean area of the cataractous lens to the entire lens. It showed the non-saponin component of ginseng extract group has the protective effect of cataract formation in selenite-induced cataract in the rat model. This graph showed the significantly lower cataract area in non-saponin group (Group III) compared with the control group using Mann-Whitney U test. Mann-Whitney U test was used because the cataract area distribution did not follow the standard curve due to the portions of lenses without cataract. Asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance compared with positive control group.

Reference

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