Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of intramammary administration, at drying-off, of a Panax ginseng extract (PGe) combined with cephalexin (Ceph) on the post-calving bacteriological cure rate of pre-existing intramammary infections (IMI) and on the occurrence of new IMI during the dry period. In addition, milk yield and somatic cell count (SCC) in the post-treatment lactation were evaluated. One hundred and eight late-lactation cows were randomly divided into two experimental groups and were treated at drying-off with Ceph alone or PGe combined with Ceph.Cure rates for IMI present at drying-off were similar for both treatments (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.33–2.74). Cure rates for Staphylococcus aureus were lower (OR = 15.4, 95% CI = 1.66–142.52) in quarters treated with PGe + Ceph than in those treated with Ceph alone. Intramammary infusion of PGe + Ceph at drying-off had no effect on preventing new dry period IMI (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.38–1.51), compared with infusion of Ceph alone. Milk production and SCC in the ensuing lactation were not affected by PGe + Ceph treatment. In conclusion, addition of PGe to dry cow therapy did not show any advantage over the use of dry cow therapy alone.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of a single intramammary infusion of Panax ginseng extract on cell proliferation and death mechanism in bovine mammary gland during early involution. Eight mammary quarters from six non-pregnant cows in late lactation were infused with 10 ml of ginseng solution (3 mg/ml), six quarters were treated with 10 ml of placebo (vehicle alone) and six quarters were maintained as uninoculated controls. Milking was interrupted after infusion. Animals included in the three groups were slaughtered 7 d after inoculation and samples for histological analysis were taken. Morphometric analysis showed a significant increase in percentages of mammary tissue area occupied by stroma in ginseng-treated quarters compared with controls. A significant increase of immunostained area for bax protein and active caspase-3 was observed in ginseng-treated quarters compared with controls, whereas no differences were observed for bcl-2 immunostaining. Expression of bax mRNA was significantly higher in ginseng-treated quarters than in controls. The bax/bcl-2 ratio indicated a significant predominance of bax over bcl-2 mRNA expression in ginseng-treated quarters compared with controls. The rise of epithelial and stromal cell apoptosis in situ by TUNEL was more marked in quarters treated with ginseng than in controls. Ginseng inoculation had no effect on the number of epithelial and stromal proliferating cells labelled with Ki-67 antibody. Ratio of apoptotic to proliferating cells was higher in quarters treated with ginseng compared with controls, indicating a net loss of cells in parenchymal components. Also, the intramammary inoculation of ginseng extract at drying off increased the rate of mammary cell apoptosis without inhibiting cell proliferation. Taken together, these changes are indicative of mammary regression enhancement during early involution.

To find more morphological characteristics useful for discussion on aralian or non-aralian Panax affinity, pollen morphological diversity was comparatively analysed in P. ginseng, Aralia elata and Oplopanax elatus collected during their pollination periods. In the anthers of both the buds and open flowers, the pollen average diameter varied between some species-specific maximum and minimal measurement. However, the larger pollen grains were typically found in the buds whereas the smaller pollen prevailed in the open flowers, testifying to the pollen size diminution during anther maturation. Based on this finding, the subsequent examination of pollen according to size decrease was put into operation as a method of pollen modification for the study. The structural mechanisms of pollen metamorphosis were identified as not being species specific but rather universal. These mechanisms are suggested to be the shrinkage of the pollen vegetative cytoplasm, the intine enlargement, the deepening of three colporate apertures provided by exine sunken into enlarged intine areas, the aperture accretion as well as the transformation of the exine from thick/sculptured into thin/less sculptured. During ‘size-reducing metamorphosis’, the pollen grains changed dramatically, going through a species-specific set of intermediate morphs to the final species-specific morphotype. In P. ginseng this morphotype is round (diameter is about 16 μm), in A. elata it is round with a single projection (diameter is about 15 μm) and in O. elatus it is ovoid with a single projection (average diameter is about 18 μm). In addition, every species is peculiar in having the unique vegetative cytoplasm inclusions and individual construction of the largest pollen exine. From a phylogenetic perspective, these findings presumably add support to the option of equal remoteness of P. ginseng from A. elata and O. elatus. The characteristics found seem to be suitable for examination of Panax affinity, by the subsequent study of more Araliaceae representatives.

In the absence of effective pharmacotherapy for diabetes there has been an increase in the use of, and research into, alternative treatment strategies. These include exercise, dietary interventions and the use of supplements including extracts of ginseng. Two separate, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over studies investigating the effects of chronic ingestion of Panax ginseng (study 1 used G115, study 2 used Cheong Kwan Jang) on glycated Hb (HbA1c; study 1, n 18; study 2, n 11), fasting plasma insulin (study 1, n 17; study 2, n 12), fasting plasma glucose and postprandial response (following breakfast) (study 1, n 23; study 2, n 14) in healthy volunteers are reported. In both studies it was found that Panax ginseng had no effect on any gluco-regulatory parameter investigated. These results are not consistent with those reported for a diabetic sample (albeit using slightly different outcomes). These results would suggest that chronic use of Panax ginseng by non-diabetic individuals will have little long-term effect on glucose regulation. The benefits to glucose regulation associated with long-term ginseng use may only be present in populations with compromised glucose control; however, further research is needed to confirm such a speculation.

A total of 791 microsatellites (SSRs) were isolated from 7055 Panax ginseng expressed sequence tags (ESTs). According to primer design criteria, 68 primer pairs for EST-SSR were designed. Under an appropriate polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system, all EST-SSR primer pairs were screened against genomic DNA of Ji'anchangbo and Fusong'ermaya from Panax ginseng, and 43 EST-SSR primer pairs out of the above 68 resulted in PCR products. Then, all 43 pairs were detected in nine P. ginseng, two Panax quinquefolius and two Acanthopanax senticosus cultivars for polymorphisms, and 26 pairs (60.47%) were found to be polymorphic, accounting for 38.23% of the total number of designed primer pairs. These results demonstrate the possibility of developing EST-SSR markers using P. ginseng ESTs.