Ginsenosides are the naturally occurring steroid compounds found in ginseng. Approximately 100 different ginsenosides have been identified so far and most of these have some biological activity including anti-tumor effects.
Recently, the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 against the malignant tumors of multiple myeloma were observed. Multiple myeloma is generally treated with bortezomib, however, the emergence of drug resistance against this treatment has increased in recent years. There is need for a new treatment or combination treatment to battle this cancer.
In a new study at Ningbo University, a drug-resistant cell line RMPI8226R was constructed. Next, a four-week-old nude mouse model was subcutaneously inoculated with either the ‘normal’ cancer cells or these drug-resistant cancer cells. All of the mice developed tumors, which were then allowed to grow to a predetermined size. Once the tumors were well-developed, treatments were begun.
The treatments involved intraperitoneal injections of either bortezomib, or ginsenoside Rg1, or a combination of bortezomib + ginsenoside Rg1. Injections were continued every 3 days for 15 days. After that time, the tumors were collected and analyzed.
The results showed that treatment with ginsenoside Rg1 was able to inhibit the development of multiple myeloma tumors. It was also found that the addition of ginsenoside Rg1 to bortezomib treatment was able to overcome the drug resistance. This proved the anti-tumor effect of ginsenoside Rg1, however, only one multiple myeloma cell line RMPI8226 was investigated so far. Further research including additional cell lines is needed.
Ginsenoside Rg1 as well as several other ginsenosides are available from LKT Labs: see all
Lin L, Chen D, Li S, et al. Ginsenoside Rg1 inhibits multiple myeloma and overcomes bortezomib resistance through AMPK-mTOR pathway. Heliyon. 2024 Jul 1;10(13):e33935. PMID: 39071579