Neuroactive and other free amino acids in seed and young plants of Panax ginseng

作者：Kuo YH; Ikegami F; Lambein F^*

来源：Phytochemistry, 2003, 62(7): 1087-1091.

DOI：10.1016/S0031-9422(02)00658-1

• Panax ginseng
• Araliaceae
• Asian ginseng
• neuroactive
• neurotoxin
• non-protein amino acids
• beta-ODAP
• GABA

The seeds and one to three years old plants of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) were analyzed for their free amino acid contents. The neuro-excitatory beta-ODAP (beta-N-oxalyl-L-alpha,beta-diaminopropionic acid), suggested to be the cause of the crippling neurolathyrism, was the major component in the seed extract (70% of the total free amino acids detected) and showed the highest concentration (0.43% by wt) compared to that in the different parts of young plants. beta-ODAP concentration was higher in the shoots as compared to roots and declined in older plants. The amount of beta-ODAP in the roots may be considered as an indirect measure of age and quality. Another neuro-active non-protein amino acid, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), increased dramatically after germination and reached highest concentration in different parts of 3 year-old plants. Glutamine and arginine were the two major free proteinogenic amino acids in the ginseng plants and together they constituted over 50% of all the free amino acids detected in the root.

• 出版日期2003-4