Ethyl acetate extract from tissue-cultured mountain ginseng adventitious roots inhibits in vitro platelet aggregation in whole human blood and augments peripheral blood flow in mice.

We previously reported that in vitro anti-platelet activity of tissue-cultured mountain ginseng (TCMG) ethanol extracts show improved efficacy when compared with commercial ginseng products such as Korean red ginseng and Panax ginseng. However, information on the anti-platelet activity of the ethyl acetate fraction from TCMG adventitious roots is limited. Therefore, in this study, we further investigated the effects of an ethyl acetate extract of TCMG (EA-TCMG) adventitious roots on in vitro antiplatelet activity in whole human blood and its effect on peripheral blood flow in mice. We found that EA-TCMG inhibited platelet aggregation with IC50 values of 271, 180, and 147 mu g/mL induced by collagen, adenosine-5'-diphosphate, and arachidonic acid, respectively. Among the thee agonists used, thromboxane A(2) formation induced by arachidonic acid was markedly suppressed. Furthermore, EA-TCMG improved the peripheral circulatory disturbance by improving vascular blood flow. In conclusion, these results suggest that ethyl acetate extracts from TCMG adventitious roots might inhibit vascular platelet aggregation and thrombus formation.