Adipogenesis is the process of cell differentiation where preadipocytes become adipocytes. In the experiments, researchers first examined the suppression of Ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1 on adipogenesis differentiation, finding that Ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1 reduced intracellular lipid accumulation which is an index of adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte. Next, experiments were designed to verify the inhibitory effect of Ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1 on the adipocyte makers STAT3, PPARγ, CEBPα, and ap2, and the results showed that ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1 significantly suppressed these adipogenesis regulators in a dose-dependent manner.
Furthermore, the adipogenic protein expression such as PPARγ and CEBPα was inhibited when treated with ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1, which confirmed the inhibitory activity of ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1 on the adipogenic protein expression.
This study indicates that ginsenoside Rg5: Rk1 exhibits an anti-obesity effect and can be a therapeutic agent for obesity treatment.
The findings will be a good news for thousands of obese people. Many studies have indicated that many cancers are linked to obesity. For example, a study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2016 found that obesity increases the risk for at least 13 types of cancer and is responsible for the occurrence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, colorectal cancer, breast cancer in postmenopausal women, uterine and kidney cancers. Ginsenosides Rg5 and Rk1 are rare ginsenosides extracted and transformed from natural herbs with more natural bioactivities and safety.