Prof. Dr. Man Hee Rhee
Current review on Korea Red Ginseng circulatonic activity
President, The Korean Society of Ginseng, Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Republic of Korea
Abstract:
Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been traditionally used various kind of ailments, including immune disease, atheroslceorsis, inflammation-related diseases, etc. Recently, Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been approved by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as 6 functions for memory function, antioxidant activity, fatigue recovery, immune function, woman menopause syndrome, and blood circulation. Since the cardiovascular system is spread throughout our body, the effect of improving blood circulation can affect the entire human body. Therefore, we hypothesized KRG circulatonic activity is major underlying mechanism of KRG PANACEA (i.e., cure-all diseases). The imparement of blood circulation is derived from platelet activation, vascular inflammation and blood dyslipidemia. Among them, platelet overactivation take a pivotal role in the development of various cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, in this talk, I will focus on the molecular mechanism of anti-platelet activity of KRG extract, subfractionation and various ginsensides. Additionally, I will talk about anti-platelet activity of saponin fraction and non-saponin fraction, and more, comparison of anti-platelet activity between protopanaxadiol and protopanaxtriol saponins.
Biography: Dr Man Hee Rhee is a Professor at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Korea. He obtained his MS (Veterinary Medicne) in 1989 at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National Unversity, Korea. He moved into Korea Ginseng & Tobacco Research Institute (KGTRI), Daedeok Science Center, Taejeon, Korea, from 1991 to 1994 as a Research Scientist. He had studied novel ginseng pharmacology in the field of cardiovascular system and Immune system in KGTRI. In 1995, he had moved into Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, during 5 years to obtain PhD degree. In order to perform postdoctoral research, Dr. Rhee came to the Department of Physiology & Cell biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA (2000 ~ 2002). He had studied the role Regulator of G protein Signaling (RGS) in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular system and central nervous system using genetic engineering and cellular biology technique in St. Louis. Man Hee Joined Kyungpook National University as an Assistant Professor in 2003 and was promoted to Full Professor in Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University in 2014. Man Hee lectures to student Veterinary Physiology and Practice, Veterinary Neuroscience, GPCR and second messengers, and so on. His current research interests are in the protective effects of natural products such as ginseng and mushroom compounds on cardiovascular disorders, and the anti-inflammatory effect of natural products in LPS-activated murine macrophage or alveolar macrophage cell line.