Abstract
Aging is associated with increased prevalence of skeletal and cardiac muscle disorders, such as sarcopenia and cardiac infarction. In this study, we constructed a compendium of purified ginsenoside compounds from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, which is a traditional Korean medicinal plant used to treat for muscle weakness. Skeletal muscle progenitor cell-based screening identified three compounds that enhance cell viability, of which 20(R)-ginsenoside Rh2 showed the most robust response. 20(R)-ginsenoside Rh2 increased viability in myoblasts and cardiomyocytes, but not fibroblasts or disease-related cells. The cellular mechanism was identified as downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (p27Kip1) via upregulation of Akt1/PKB phosphorylation at serine 473, with the orientation of the 20 carbon epimer being crucially important for biological activity. In zebrafish and mammalian models, 20(R)-ginsenoside Rh2 enhanced muscle cell proliferation and accelerated recovery from degeneration. Thus, we have identified 20(R)-ginsenoside Rh2 as a p27Kip1 inhibitor that may be developed as a natural therapeutic for muscle degeneration.