Ginseng Extracts Facilitate Cytochrome P450 Xenobiotic Metabolism In Primary Cultures Of Rat Hepatocytes

A 70% methanol extract from red ginseng (steamed and dried roots of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, a kind of Ginseng Radix) has been shown to have various actions on physiological functions. We investigated whether the ginseng extract (Ext.) affected the mRNA expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) CYP1A1, 2B1, 2C11, 2D1, 3A1, and 3A2 in rat primary hepatocytes. After treatment with ginseng extract, the levels of CYP3A1 and 1A1 mRNA were significantly increased compared with those of the control. The increased protein levels of CYP3A1 were also observed after treatment with Ext. The mRNA levels of other examined CYPs exhibited little change. The mRNA levels of the pregnane X receptor, but not the constitutive androstane receptor, both transcription factors for CYPs, also significantly increased after treatment with ginseng extract. These results raise the possibility that ginseng Ext. promotes xenobiotic metabolism via an increase in CYP3A1. and 1A1 expression.