[P008] Poster

1:00 PM - 1:50 PM JST(4:00 AM - 4:50 AM UTC)

[P04-500] Ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 suppress lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory gene expression in microglia and astrocytes, unlike Rb2

Hanwoong Woo¹, Jeong-im Choi², Sohee Kim², Yeonsu Kim², Juyeon Lee², Daeun Park², Jung Ki Min¹, Sehyun Chae^1,3, ○Jieun Kim^1,2,4 (1. Multidimensional Genomics Research Center, Kangwon National University (Korea), 2. Department of Bio-Health Convergence, Kangwon National University (Korea), 3. Division of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, College of Art Culture and Engineering, Kangwon National University (Korea), 4. Department of Bio-Health Technology, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University (Korea))

Keywords:

Ginsenosides,Microglia,Astrocytes,Structure-activity relationship,Comparative pharmacology

Neuroinflammation mediated by activated microglia and astrocytes contributes to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Ginsenosides derived from Panax ginseng possess anti-inflammatory properties; however, the comparative efficacy of structurally distinct ginsenosides and their activity across multiple glial cell types remain incompletely understood. In this study, we systematically compared the effects of ginsenosides Rb1 (protopanaxadiol-type), Rb2 (protopanaxadiol-type), and Rg1 (protopanaxatriol-type) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated BV2 microglia and C8-D1A astrocytes. Cells were treated with ginsenosides (1, 5, or 10 μM) 30 min after LPS stimulation, and mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory markers (Il-6, Il-1β, Tnf-α, and Cox-2) was quantified using real-time PCR. Both Rb1 and Rg1 significantly attenuated LPS-induced pro-inflammatory gene expression in microglial and astroglial cell types, indicating broad anti-inflammatory activity across glial populations. In contrast, Rb2 showed minimal effects in either cell type, despite sharing the protopanaxadiol backbone with Rb1. Comparative analysis revealed that Rb1 and Rg1 produced similar levels of inhibition across most inflammatory markers in both cell types (67–96% inhibition), whereas Rb2 consistently failed to suppress inflammatory gene expression. These findings demonstrate that the structurally distinct ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 exhibit comparable broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory activity in glial cells, whereas Rb2, despite its structural similarity to Rb1, lacks such efficacy. The results highlight functional heterogeneity within ginsenoside subclasses and identify Rb1 and Rg1 as promising candidates for therapeutic strategies targeting neuroinflammatory responses involving both microglial and astroglial activation.