Steamed Ginseng-Leaf Components Enhance Cytotoxic Effects on Human Leukemia HL-60 Cells

Three new dammarane-type glycosides, named ginsenosides SL1-SL3 (1-3), and eleven known compounds (4-14) were isolated from the heat-processed leaves of Panax ginseng. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive chemical and spectroscopic methods. Cytotoxic-activity testing of compounds 1-14 against human leukemia HL-60 cells showed that ginsenosides Rh3 (11) and Rk2 (12) exhibited potent effects with IC50 values of 0.8 and 0.9 μM. In addition, ginsenosides SL3 (3), 20S-Rg2 (7), F4 (10), 20S-Rh2 (13) displayed strong activity with IC50 values of 9.0, 9.0, 7.5, and 8.2 μM, respectively. This is the first report on chemical components of the steamed ginseng leaves. Panax ginseng (C.A.MEYER, Araliaceae), an ancient and famous herbal drug in oriental traditional medicine, has been used as a tonic and for the treatment of various diseases. 1,2) Biologically active constituents of whole parts of P.ginseng have been pursued extensively and many dammarane-type triterpene oligoglycosides have been characterized as the principal components. 1-4)