Immunomodulating activities of polysaccharides isolated from Panax ginseng

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer has been traditionally used for the prevention and treatment of various chronic diseases and infections. Ginseng marc is a fibrous and insoluble by-product remaining after the extraction process of ginseng. In this research an extrusion process was employed to disintegrate the insoluble ginseng marc structure, and water-soluble ginseng marc polysaccharide (GMP) was isolated. GMP was examined for immunomodulatory effects in murine peritoneal macrophages. GMP significantly increased the lysosomal phosphatase activity and the phagocytic index of peritoneal macrophages (P