Authors
Kim SH. Jeong KS. Ryu SY. Kim TH.
Institution
Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National
University, Kwangju, South Korea.
Title
Panax ginseng prevents apoptosis in hair follicles and
accelerates recovery of hair medullary cells in irradiated
mice.
Source
In Vivo. 12(2):219-22, 1998 Mar-Apr.
Abstract
We studied the effect of the water fraction of Panax ginseng, one of
traditional oriental medicine herbs on apoptosis and the formation of
medullary cell in the hair follicles of irradiated mice. The
hair follicle or its differentiated product, the
hair, which represents a linear historical record of
follicular proliferative activity, could provide a biological indicator of
the effect of radioprotective drugs. Adult N:GP(s) mice with
hair follicles synchronously in the middle of the
hair growth cycle received whole-body doses
of gamma-radiation. The hair follicles were analysed either
12 hours after irradiation with 2 Gy in the experiment on the apoptosis, or 3
days after irradiation with 3 Gy in the experiment on the forming medulla.
The number of medullary cells per unit length (100 microns) were measured by
H and E staining. Apoptosis was detected by a nonisotopic in situ DNA
end-labeling (ISEL) technique and H and E stain applied to the serial
histologic sections. Ginseng administration before irradiation resulted in a
suppression of apoptosis, as shown by a reduced number of cells stained with
ISEL for fragmented DNA, both i.p. (0.3 mg/head, p < 0.05) and p.o. (2 mg/ml
of drinking water, p < 0.05) treatment. In addition, ginseng treatment was
associated with an increase in the number of medullary cell per unit length
as compared with the vehicle treated mice (p < 0.001, i.p.; p < 0.05, p.o.).
These results indicate that the water fraction of ginseng can exert a potent
effect on the recovery of the hair follicles by its combined
effects on proliferation and apoptosis of the cells in the
hair follicle.