Figure 1

The effect of Korean red ginseng extract (RGE) on hepatocyte viability. A) The effect of RGE on hepatocyte viability. HepG2 cells were incubated with 10 μM arachidonic acid (AA) for 12 h and then were treated with 5 μM iron for 6 h. Cell viability was assessed by the MTT assay. Data represent the mean ± S.E.M. of five replicates (treatment mean significantly different from vehicle-treated control, ^**p < 0.01; treatment mean significantly different from AA + iron, ^##p < 0.01). B) TUNEL assay. HepG2 cells were treated with 1 mg/ml RGE for 1 h and were continuously incubated with 10 μM AA for 12 h, followed by exposure to 5 μM iron for 6 h. The percentage of TUNEL-positive cells was quantified. Data represent the mean ± S.E.M. of three separate experiments (treatment mean significantly different from vehicle-treated control, ^**p < 0.01; treatment mean significantly different from AA + iron, ^##p < 0.01). C) Immunoblottings for the proteins associated with apoptosis. Immunoblot analyses were performed on the lysates of HepG2 cells that had been incubated with 1 mg/ml RGE for 1 h, continuously treated with 10 μM AA for 12 h, and then exposed to 5 μM iron for 3 h. Equal protein loading was verified by β-actin immunoblotting. Results were confirmed by repeated experiments.