Journal of Ginseng Research

The Korean Society of Ginseng (고려인삼학회)
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Panax ginseng as a potential therapeutic for neurological disorders associated with COVID-19; Toward targeting inflammasome

  • Seo Won, Shin (Department of Korean Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Ik Hyun, Cho (Department of Korean Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University)
  • Received : 2022.06.22
  • Accepted : 2022.09.27
  • Published : 2023.01.02
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Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause clinical manifestations of multiple organ damage, including various neurological syndromes. There are currently two oral antiviral drugs-Paxlovid and molnupiravir-that are recognized to treat COVID-19, but there are still no drugs that can specifically fight the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a multimolecular complex that can sense heterogeneous pathogen-associated molecular patterns associated with neurological disorders. The NLRP3 activation stimulates the production of caspase-1-mediated interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, and other cytokines in immune cells. Panax (P.) ginseng is a medicinal plant that has traditionally been widely used to boost immunity and treat various pathological conditions in the nervous system due to its safety and anti-inflammatory/oxidant/viral activities. Several recent reports have indicated that P. ginseng and its active ingredients may regulate NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the nervous system. Therefore, this review article discusses the current knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of neurological disorders related to COVID-19 and NLRP3 inflammasome activation and the possibility of using P. ginseng in a strategy targeting this pathway to treat neurological disorders.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, and ICT (NRF-2022R1A2C2009817). This research was also performed by Independent Learning and Research Program and Undergraduate Research Assistant Program in Kyung Hee University (2021).

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