Comparative pharmacokinetics of ginsenoside Rg3 and ginsenoside Rh2 after oral administration of ginsenoside Rg3 in normal and walker 256 tumor-bearing rats

Background: Ginseng is Chinese traditional herbal medicine, and the ginsenoside Rg ₃ is the main bioactive ingredient for the anti-tumor effect. However, there is no study on pharmacokinetics (PKs) of ginsenoside Rg ₃ and its main metabolite after oral ginsenoside Rg ₃ in tumor-bearing plasma. The aim of this study was to investigate the PK profiles of ginsenoside Rg ₃ and ginsenoside Rh ₂ after oral administration of pure ginsenoside Rg ₃ were administered, and compare the difference of the PK profiles between normal and Walker 256 tumor-bearing rats. Materials and Methods: The concentrations of two ginsenosides in plasma were determined by using a simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography. All the rats were divided randomly into two groups (Walker 256 tumor-bearing and normal groups). Each group received oral administration of 50 mg/kg ginsenoside Rg ₃ . Results: The results showed that ginsenoside Rh _2, possibly as a glycosylation hydrolysis product of ginsenoside Rg ₃, were found in plasma after oral administration of ginsenoside Rg ₃ to rats. Ginsenoside Rg ₃ had shown better absorption than ginsenoside Rh ₂, whether the oral administration of ginsenoside Rg ₃ , normal rats showed better absorption than tumor-bearing rats. Discussion and Conclusion: The PKs properties of the ginsenoside Rg ₃ and ginsenoside Rh ₂ differed between tumor-bearing rats and normal rats, including area under the plasma level/time curve and concentration maximum (P < 0.05).