Effect of ginsenosides Rg3 and Re on glucose transport in mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Ginsenosides, the active component of Panax ginseng, have been shown to evidence a variety of biological activities associated with hyperglycemia, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study evaluated the effects of the ginsenosides, Rg3 and Re, on glucose uptake and the glucose transport system in mature 3T3‐L1 cells. The results demonstrated that the glucose uptake of ginsenosides Rg3 and Re at concentrations of 1–10 µM significantly increased by approximately ～10% and ～12%, respectively. Furthermore, the glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) mRNA expression of ginsenosides Rg3 and Re at 10 µM was increased by approximately ～1.73 and 1.43 fold, respectively. It was further confirmed in a series of experiments that ginsenosides Rg3 and Re stimulated the mRNA expression of insulin receptor substrate (IRS‐1) and the expression of phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K)‐110α protein, which is involved in downstream events in the insulin signaling pathway. These findings demonstrate that ginsenosides Rg3 and Re may stimulate glucose uptake via the PI3K pathways involving IRS‐1. Further, our results suggest that both of these ginsenosides might prove useful as effective antidiabetic and antihyperglycemic agents. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.