PARENT SESSION
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Sunday, April 21, 2002
Poster Session 7 Radioprotectors
Room: Nevada Exhibition Center
(P12-109) Ginseng reduced the micronuclei yield in lymphocytes after irradiation.
Lee, T-K*,1, Allison, Ron1, O'Brien, Kevin2, Khazanie, Prabhaker3, Kragel, Peter3, 1 Dept. Rad. Oncol. Brody Sch. Med. at ECU, Greenville, NC2 Dept. Biostatistics, ECU Sch. Allied Health, Greenville, NC3 Dept. Path. Lab. Med. Brody Sch. Med. at ECU, Greenville, NC
ABSTRACT-
To assess the efficiency of Ginseng in modifying the yields of radiation-induced micronuclei (MN) in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), we conducted the cytokinesis-blocked MN assay in blood samples obtained from healthy volunteers (n=4). Before 137Cs ex vivo irradiation, mononuclear cell cultures from each sample were incubated with the different concentrations (100-2000ug/ml) of crude water extract of the dry root of Panax Ginseng for 60 minutes. We found that (1) at 0 Gy, MN yield (mean+-SD) was 11.3+-5.5 per 1000 binucleated (BN) cells; there was no trend between MN yields and the Ginseng concentration (p=0.3); (2) after 1 Gy or 2 Gy irradiation, MN yields decrease linearly as the concentration of Ginseng increases in cell cultures exposed to either 1 Gy or 2 Gy (p<=0.004). Compared with radiation alone, the extent to which Ginseng reduced the MN yield in PBL with 2 Gy exposure was 38% at 1500ug/ml and 46% at 2000ug/ml. Our data indicate that (1) Ginseng protects PBL against ex vivo (1 Gy, 2 Gy) radiation-induced DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner; and (2) Ginseng exerts no apparent cytotoxic effect on PBL at concentration up to 2000ug/ml. Therefore, we believe that Ginseng has therapeutic value as a protective agent for normal tissue during radiotherapy of cancer patients.
KEYWORDS: Ginseng, Micronuclei, Lymphocytes, Radiation