FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
SEMESTER 2
HFS 3533 NUTRITIONAL BIOCHEMISTRY & METABOLISM
GINSENG SUPPLEMENT
NAME : LOO MIN MATRIX NO : BHBL14037740 LECTURER’S NAME : DR. KAN SU-YIN DATE OF SUBMISSION : 12 APRIL 2015
Diagram 1 : Hurix’s Ginseng Plus Capsule (Ekstrak) 6
The product shown in Diagram 1 is a type of ginseng supplement. The manufacturer of this supplement is Hurix. This ginseng supplement can be categorized as rheumatism supplement. According to the manufacturer’s claim, it is a traditional herb product that used for relieving muscle and shoulder aches, waist, back and joint pain. It is also used for strengthening the bone and promote general health. For…show more content… Panax ginseng also known as Asian ginseng, Korean ginseng and Chinese ginseng. Panax ginseng is one of the most popular and important traditional herb in East Asian countries. It is an adaptogenic herb, which means that consumption of this herb can help to increase the ability of human to adapt to environmental factors such as weather and climate changes or bacterial and viral infections, increases resistance to physical, chemical and biological stress and builds up general vitality.2 The major bioactive components presents in Panax ginseng is ginsenosides, which contribute many beneficial effects to human health. Not only that, Panax ginseng also contains polysaccharides, peptides, amino acids, flavonoids, essential oil, B vitamins and minerals such as aluminium, calcium, iron and copper.3
Ginsenosides or panaxosides are actually produced by the ginseng plant for the purpose of defense mechanism. Ginsenosides found naturally in the ginseng plant have antimicrobial and antifungal, thus protecting the ginseng from harmful substances.8 Ginsenosides are saponin molecules, which is a type of phytochemical that can be found in most vegetables, beans and herbs. Saponins taste bitter and thus possesses antifeedant characteristics. Saponin also have foaming characteristics, meaning means that saponins will cause the formation of foam when mixed with…show more content… Dammarane skeleton consists of seventeen carbon atoms arranged in a four-ring structure while sugar moieties (R1,R2,R3) refer to the sugar portion in a complex molecule. Glucose and xylose are examples of sugar moieties.8 This dammarane-type ginsenosides are generally classified into two groups, namely protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol. Protopanaxadiol ginsenosides have sugar moieties attached to hydroxyl group at C-3 and C-20 while the protopanaxatriol ginsenosides have sugar moieties attached to hydroxyl group at C-3, C-6, and C-20. Another type of ginsenoside that exists in minor portion is called oleanane ginsenoside which has five-ring structure.4 (a) (b) (c)
Diagram 2 : The Chemical Structures of (a) Protopanaxadiol (b) Protopanaxatriol (c)