Preparation of Polyethylene Glycol-Ginsenoside Rh1 and Rh2 Conjugates and Their Efficacy against Lung Cancer and Inflammation
by
Ramya Mathiyalagan 1,†, Chao Wang 2,3,†, Yeon Ju Kim 2, Verónica Castro-Aceituno 2
, Sungeun Ahn 2, Sathiyamoorthy Subramaniyam 2,4, Shakina Yesmin Simu 1, Zuly Elizabeth Jiménez-Pérez 1, Deok Chun Yang 1,2,* and Seok-Kyu Jung 2,*
Ramya Mathiyalagan 1,†, Chao Wang 2,3,†, Yeon Ju Kim 2, Verónica Castro-Aceituno 2, Sungeun Ahn 2, Sathiyamoorthy Subramaniyam 2,4, Shakina Yesmin Simu 1, Zuly Elizabeth Jiménez-Pérez 1, Deok Chun Yang 1,2,* and Seok-Kyu Jung 2,*
1
Graduate School of Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea
2
Department of Oriental Medicinal Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea
3
Institute of Biomedical Research, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, Shandong, China
4
Department of Biotechnology, Dr.N.G.P., Arts and Science College, Coimbatore 641048, Tamil Nadu, India
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Academic Editor: René Csuk
Molecules 2019, 24(23), 4367; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24234367
Received: 7 October 2019 / Revised: 22 November 2019 / Accepted: 26 November 2019 / Published: 29 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Trends in Ginseng Research)
Low solubility and tumor-targeted delivery of ginsenosides to avoid off-target cytotoxicity are challenges for clinical trials. In the present study, we report on a methodology for the synthesis of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-ginsenoside conjugates through a hydrolysable ester bond using the hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol with the hydrophobic ginsenosides Rh1 and Rh2 to enhance water solubility and passive targeted delivery. The resulting conjugates were characterized by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). 1H NMR revealed that the C-6 and C-3 sugar hydroxyl groups of Rh1 and Rh2 were esterified. The conjugates showed spherical shapes that were monitored by field-emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), and the average sizes of the particles were 62 ± 5.72 nm and 134 ± 8.75 nm for PEG-Rh1and PEG-Rh2, respectively (measured using a particle size analyzer). Owing to the hydrophilic enhancing properties of PEG, PEG-Rh1 and PEG-Rh2 solubility was greatly enhanced compared to Rh1 and Rh2 alone. The release rates of Rh1 and Rh2 were increased in lower pH conditions (pH 5.0), that for pathophysiological sites as well as for intracellular endosomes and lysosomes, compared to normal-cell pH conditions (pH 7.4). In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed that the PEG-Rh1conjugates had greater anticancer activity in a human non-small cell lung cancer cell line (A549) compared to Rh1 alone, whereas PEG-Rh2 showed lower cytotoxicity in lung cancer cells. On the other hand, both PEG-Rh1 and PEG-Rh2 showed non-cytotoxicity in a nondiseased murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) compared to free Rh1 and Rh2, but PEG-Rh2 exhibited increased efficacy against inflammation by greatly inhibiting nitric oxide production. Thus, the overall conclusion of our study is that PEG conjugation promotes the properties of Rh1 for anticancer and Rh2 for inflammation treatments. Depends on the disease models, they could be potential drug candidates for further studies.
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Keywords:
Korean ginseng; ginsenoside Rh1; ginsenoside Rh2; polyethylene glycol; conjugation; nanoparticles; lung cancer; inflammation
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MDPI and ACS Style
Mathiyalagan, R.; Wang, C.; Kim, Y.J.; Castro-Aceituno, V.; Ahn, S.; Subramaniyam, S.; Simu, S.Y.; Jiménez-Pérez, Z.E.; Yang, D.C.; Jung, S.-K. Preparation of Polyethylene Glycol-Ginsenoside Rh1 and Rh2 Conjugates and Their Efficacy against Lung Cancer and Inflammation. Molecules 2019, 24, 4367.
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