Nitric Oxide is Involved in the Immunomodulating Activities of Acidic Polysaccharide from Panax ginseng

Abstract

The effects of an acidic polysaccharide isolated from the ethanol-insoluble and water-soluble fraction of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer on immunomodulating activities were investigated. A high output nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was shown in female BALB/c mice administered intraperitoneally with the acidic polysaccharide from ginseng. Newly synthesized iNOS protein was also observed in peritoneal macrophages cultured with interferon-γ and the acidic polysaccharide. Spleen cells from acidic polysaccharide-treated mice did not proliferate in response to concanavalin A, but restored the responsiveness by the cotreatment of N ^G-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA) with concanavalin A. The treatment of mice with aminoguanidine, a specific iNOS inhibitor, alleviated the acidic polysaccharide-induced suppression of antibody response to sheep red blood cells. Present results suggest that the immunomodulating activities of the acidic polysaccharide were mediated by the production of nitric oxide.

Abbreviations

iNOS:inducible nitric oxide synthase

IFN-γ:interferon-γ

RGAP:red ginseng acidic polysaccharide

Con A:concanavalin A

NMMA:N ^G-monomethyl-L-arginine

AFC:antibody forming cell

SRBC:sheep red blood cell

AG:aminoguanidine

Key words

Polysaccharide - Panax ginseng - Araliaceae, nitric oxide - macrophage

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