Gintonin is a
glycolipoprotein fraction
A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, thre ...
isolated from ''
Panax ginseng
''Panax ginseng'', ginseng, also known as Asian ginseng, Chinese ginseng or Korean ginseng, is a species of plant whose root is the original source of ginseng. It is a perennial plant that grows in the mountains of East Asia. It is mainly cultiv ...
''. The non-
saponin
Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...
ingredient was designated as gintonin, where ''gin'' was derived from ginseng, ''ton'' from the tonic effects of ginseng, and ''in'' from protein. The main component of gintonin is a complex of
lysophosphatidic acid
A lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a phospholipid derivative that can act as a signaling molecule.
Function
LPA acts as a potent mitogen due to its activation of three high-affinity G-protein-coupled receptors called LPAR1, LPAR2, and LPAR3 (a ...
s (LPA) and ginseng proteins such as ginseng major latex-like protein151 (GLP151) and ginseng ribonuclease-like storage protein.
GLP151 is a first plant-derived LPA binding protein as one of Bet v 1 superfamily. GLP151 has a LPA binding domain on H147 and H148 at C-terminal. These two histidine residues bind to phosphate group of LPA.
Biological action
Gintonin is believed to act by delivering LPA to
lysophospholipid receptor
The lysophospholipid receptor (LPL-R) group are members of the G protein-coupled receptor family of integral membrane proteins that are important for lipid signaling. In humans, there are eleven LPL receptor (biochemistry), receptors, each encode ...
s, which are high affinity and selective target receptors. In animal cell cultures, gintonin induces
a2+transients via activation of the said receptor.
[
One Korean study claims that gintonin is orally active in rodents and shows anti-Alzheimer's disease effects through LPA receptor-mediated non-amyloidogenic pathways. Oral gintonin is well-tolerated by human AD patients in a small study, but the benefits are unclear.
A number of other effects are attributed to oral administration of gintonin-enriched extract in rodents.]
See also
* Ginseng
Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...
* Ginsenoside
Ginsenosides or panaxosides are a class of natural product steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins. Compounds in this family are found almost exclusively in the plant genus ''Panax'' (ginseng), which has a long history of use in traditional med ...
* Lysophosphatidic acid
A lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a phospholipid derivative that can act as a signaling molecule.
Function
LPA acts as a potent mitogen due to its activation of three high-affinity G-protein-coupled receptors called LPAR1, LPAR2, and LPAR3 (a ...
* Lysophospholipid receptor
The lysophospholipid receptor (LPL-R) group are members of the G protein-coupled receptor family of integral membrane proteins that are important for lipid signaling. In humans, there are eleven LPL receptor (biochemistry), receptors, each encode ...
References
Further reading
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* {{Cite journal , last1 = Rahman MA , last2 = Hwang H , last3 = Nah SY , last4 = Rhim H , title = Gintonin Stimulates Autophagic Flux in Primary Cortical Astrocytes , doi = 10.1016/j.jgr.2018.08.004 , journal = J Ginseng Res , volume = 44 , issue = 1 , pages = 67–78 , year = 2020 , pmid = 32148391 , pmc = 7033340 , doi-access = free
Glycolipids