Protective effect of Ginseng Radix on the interference of cell proliferation induced by maternal separation in the dentate gyrus of rat pups

Ginseng Radix (GR) is the root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Araliaceae). GR has been used for palpitations with anxiety, insomnia, forgetfulness, and restlessness from Deficient Qi and Blood. Maternal separation (MS) in early life is very stressful for the neonate. It causes perturbation of neuroendocrine and physiological conditions, and increases vulnerability for psychiatric diseases and neuronal degeneration. In order to investigate the protective effects of GR on the interference of cell proliferation induced by MS in the dentate gyrus (DG), we administered it to rat pups with MS. Rat pups (outbred SD strain) were separated from their mothers on postnatal day 14 and treated with GR (100 mg/kg) and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) (50 mg/kg) for 7 days, after which BrdU-specific immunohistochemistry was carried out. In the separation group, the number of BrdU-positive cells in the DG was significantly decreased than in control (p _ 0.05). In contrast, in the ginseng-treated group with MS, the number of BrdU-positive cells in the DG was significantly increased than in the separation group, as expected (p _ 0.05). These results indicate that GR protects the interference of cell proliferation induced by MS, and we suggest that GR may be useful in the treatment of the diseases associated with MS.