Ginsenoside Rg1 modulates medial prefrontal cortical firing and suppresses the hippocampo-medial prefrontal cortical long-term potentiation

• Published in: Journal of ginseng research 2018, 42(3), , pp.298-303
• Main Authors: Ghaeminia, Mehdy, Rajkumar, Ramamoorthy, Koh, Hwee-Ling, Dawe, Gavin S., Tan, Chay Hoon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ginsenoside Rg1; hippocampus; long-term potentiation; medical prefrontal cortex; single unit; 기타의약학
• ISSN: 1226-8453; 2093-4947
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jgr.2017.03.010

Panax ginseng is one of the most commonly used medicinal herbs worldwide for a variety of therapeutic properties including neurocognitive effects. Ginsenoside Rg1 is one of the most abundant active chemical constituents of this herb with known neuroprotective, anxiolytic, and cognition improving effects. We investigated the effects of Rg1 on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a key brain region involved in cognition, information processing, working memory, and decision making. In this study, the effects of systemic administration of Rg1 (1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, or 10 mg/kg) on (1) spontaneous firing of the medial prefrontal cortical neurons and (2) long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampal–medial prefrontal cortical (HP–mPFC) pathway were investigated in male Sprague–Dawley rats. The spontaneous neuronal activity of approximately 50% the recorded pyramidal cells in the mPFC was suppressed by Rg1. In addition, Rg1 attenuated LTP in the HP–mPFC pathway. These effects were not dose-dependent. This report suggests that acute treatment of Rg1 impairs LTP in the HP–mPFC pathway, perhaps by suppressing the firing of a subset of mPFC neurons that may contribute to the neurocognitive effects of Rg1.