Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality

Abstract The roots of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (ginseng) are one of the traditional medicinal herbs in Asian countries and is known as the “king of all herbs”. The most important active components of ginseng are the secondary metabolite saponins, which are closely related to ecological stress. Unsu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wei Zhang, Pengcheng Yu, Wenfei Liu, Liyang Wang, Xiaowen Song, Yao Yao, Xiubo Liu, Xiangcai Meng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85905-3
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841544819145441280
author Wei Zhang
Pengcheng Yu
Wenfei Liu
Liyang Wang
Xiaowen Song
Yao Yao
Xiubo Liu
Xiangcai Meng
author_facet Wei Zhang
Pengcheng Yu
Wenfei Liu
Liyang Wang
Xiaowen Song
Yao Yao
Xiubo Liu
Xiangcai Meng
author_sort Wei Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The roots of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (ginseng) are one of the traditional medicinal herbs in Asian countries and is known as the “king of all herbs”. The most important active components of ginseng are the secondary metabolite saponins, which are closely related to ecological stress. Unsuitable ecological stress can generate a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), by which the secondary metabolism is regulated, and the quality of herbs can be significantly improved. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) treatment on the quality of fresh ginseng roots. In this study, 5-year-old fresh ginseng was exposed to 0.1, 0.5, and 2 mmol/L SNP, a nitric oxide (NO) donor for five consecutive days. SNP significantly increased the levels of O2 ·−, H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA), NADPH oxidase (NOX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxides (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate (AsA) and GSH/GSSG. The main root treated by 0.5 mmol/L SNP for three days was the best, with the activities of the key enzymes of the ginsenoside synthesis pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPS), squalene synthase (SS), squalene epoxidase (SE), and dammarane diol-II synthase (DS) activities increased markedly; the ginsenosides Rg1 + Re, Rb1, Rf, Rc, Rg2 + Rh1 and the total ginsenoside contents increased by 51.0%, 77.7%, 44.6%, 26.8%, 63.2% and 48.2%, respectively, but only a trace amount of the ginsenoside monomer Rb2 decreased 23.4%. The fibrous roots treated by 0.1 mmol/L SNP for four days showed the best effect, HMGCR, FPS, SS, SE, and DS also increased significantly; ginsenosides Rg1 + Re, Rb1, Ro, Rc, Rf, Rb3, Rb2, and total saponin contents increased 37.6%, 47.8%, 34.2%, 75.1%, 51.0%, 49.4%, 28.3%, and 20.4%, respectively. The 1,3-diphosphoglycerate (1,3-DPG) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), related to primary metabolism, were also significantly elevated. The Morris water maze (MWM), histopathological analysis and oxidative stress indexes in brain tissues were used to evaluate the anti-aging effect, indicating that the SNP-treated ginseng further ameliorated D-gal-induced the impaired memory function and oxidative stress in mice, implying the efficacy of SNP-treated ginseng was better than untreated ginseng’s. SNP can build the physiological state of ginseng under ecological stress, stimulate the antioxidant protection mechanism, increase the secondary metabolites, and improve the quality of ginseng.
format Article
id doaj-art-6709e04d1f5540fab9b2bafdee161ab1
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-6709e04d1f5540fab9b2bafdee161ab12025-01-12T12:16:28ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111910.1038/s41598-025-85905-3Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng qualityWei Zhang0Pengcheng Yu1Wenfei Liu2Liyang Wang3Xiaowen Song4Yao Yao5Xiubo Liu6Xiangcai Meng7Department of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineJiamusi College, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Heilongjiang University of Chinese MedicineAbstract The roots of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (ginseng) are one of the traditional medicinal herbs in Asian countries and is known as the “king of all herbs”. The most important active components of ginseng are the secondary metabolite saponins, which are closely related to ecological stress. Unsuitable ecological stress can generate a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), by which the secondary metabolism is regulated, and the quality of herbs can be significantly improved. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) treatment on the quality of fresh ginseng roots. In this study, 5-year-old fresh ginseng was exposed to 0.1, 0.5, and 2 mmol/L SNP, a nitric oxide (NO) donor for five consecutive days. SNP significantly increased the levels of O2 ·−, H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA), NADPH oxidase (NOX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxides (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate (AsA) and GSH/GSSG. The main root treated by 0.5 mmol/L SNP for three days was the best, with the activities of the key enzymes of the ginsenoside synthesis pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPS), squalene synthase (SS), squalene epoxidase (SE), and dammarane diol-II synthase (DS) activities increased markedly; the ginsenosides Rg1 + Re, Rb1, Rf, Rc, Rg2 + Rh1 and the total ginsenoside contents increased by 51.0%, 77.7%, 44.6%, 26.8%, 63.2% and 48.2%, respectively, but only a trace amount of the ginsenoside monomer Rb2 decreased 23.4%. The fibrous roots treated by 0.1 mmol/L SNP for four days showed the best effect, HMGCR, FPS, SS, SE, and DS also increased significantly; ginsenosides Rg1 + Re, Rb1, Ro, Rc, Rf, Rb3, Rb2, and total saponin contents increased 37.6%, 47.8%, 34.2%, 75.1%, 51.0%, 49.4%, 28.3%, and 20.4%, respectively. The 1,3-diphosphoglycerate (1,3-DPG) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), related to primary metabolism, were also significantly elevated. The Morris water maze (MWM), histopathological analysis and oxidative stress indexes in brain tissues were used to evaluate the anti-aging effect, indicating that the SNP-treated ginseng further ameliorated D-gal-induced the impaired memory function and oxidative stress in mice, implying the efficacy of SNP-treated ginseng was better than untreated ginseng’s. SNP can build the physiological state of ginseng under ecological stress, stimulate the antioxidant protection mechanism, increase the secondary metabolites, and improve the quality of ginseng.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85905-3GinsenosidesSodium nitroprussideReactive oxygen speciesSecondary metaboliteAnti-aging
spellingShingle Wei Zhang
Pengcheng Yu
Wenfei Liu
Liyang Wang
Xiaowen Song
Yao Yao
Xiubo Liu
Xiangcai Meng
Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
Scientific Reports
Ginsenosides
Sodium nitroprusside
Reactive oxygen species
Secondary metabolite
Anti-aging
title Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
title_full Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
title_fullStr Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
title_full_unstemmed Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
title_short Mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
title_sort mechanism of sodium nitroprusside regulating ginseng quality
topic Ginsenosides
Sodium nitroprusside
Reactive oxygen species
Secondary metabolite
Anti-aging
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85905-3
work_keys_str_mv AT weizhang mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT pengchengyu mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT wenfeiliu mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT liyangwang mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT xiaowensong mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT yaoyao mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT xiuboliu mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality
AT xiangcaimeng mechanismofsodiumnitroprussideregulatingginsengquality