STIMULATION OF INTERLEUKIN-8 PRODUCTION BY ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES FROM THE ROOT OF PANAX-GINSENG

The root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, is a well-known important Chines e traditional medicine used as a stomachic, tonic, sedative and as an elixir called Ginseng in China and Japan. The precise mechanism of the biological actions of this plant is not fully understood. In order to elucidate the immunomodulating activities of this plant, we examined the direct effects of four of its components, acidic polysaccharides i solated in previous studies, on cytokine (interleukin-8; IL-8) product ion by a human monocytic cell line, THP-1, and human blood monocytes i n vitro, as IL-8 is a potent inflammatory cytokine involved in neutrop hil chemotaxis and activation. We found that one component, ginsenan S -IIA, is a potent inducer of IL-8 production by human monocytes and TH P-1 cells, and this induction is accompanied by increased IL-8 mRNA ex pression. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.