It is well-known that cultivated wild Panax ginseng has anti-inflammatory effect. However, a comparative study on cultivation period vs biofunctionality is currently lacking. In this study, 70% ethanol extracts of 3-years (yrs)-, 5-yrs-, or 7-yrs-old cultivated wild ginseng were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on RAW264.7 murine macrophages. Specifically, the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α]), the expression of surface proteins (CD80, CD86, and MHC-II), and the phagocytic properties were investigated. RAW264.7 cells were induced by 500 ng/mL of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and treated with 0.1, 1, and 10 ppm of samples. LPS-induced IL-6, TNF-α and surface proteins in all samples were downregulated in a dose-dependent manner. Both IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly reduced at 10 ppm of the 7-yrsold sample compared to 10 ppm of 3-yrs- and 5-yrs-old samples. CD80 and CD86 were also reduced at 10 ppm of all samples, and there was no difference among samples. The phagocytosis has no difference except in 10 ppm of 3 yr-old sample. The results suggest that cultivated wild ginseng extract has anti-inflammatory effect without decreasing phagocytosis.

• 이근(연세대학교 생물소재공학협동과정) | Geun Lee (Graduate Program in Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Yonsei University)
• 나귀환(경희대학교 식품생명공학과) | Guihwan Na (Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University)
• 김우기(경희대학교 식품생명공학과) | Wooki Kim (Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University)
• 백무열(경희대학교 식품생명공학과) | Mooyeol Baik (Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Kyung Hee University)
• 이형재(단국대학교 식품공학과) | Hyungjae Lee (Department of Food Engineering, Dankook University)
• 황재관(연세대학교 생물소재공학협동과정) | Jae-Kwan Hwang (Graduate Program in Biomaterials Science & Engineering, Yonsei University) Corresponding author