Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40843020›Full record

ArticleJournal of ginseng research2025

Protopanaxatriol, a ginsenoside metabolite, induces apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells and arrests their cell cycle by targeting AKT.

Yuhao Wang, Jianmei Zhang, Canglang Mou, Yeye Hu, Ziliang He, Jongsung Lee, Jong-Hoon Kim, Jae Youl Cho

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of ginseng research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Ginsenosides fromJournal of ginseng research · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yuhao WangDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Jianmei ZhangDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Canglang MouDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Yeye HuDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Ziliang HeDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Jongsung LeeDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
Jong-Hoon KimCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Chonbuk National University, Iksan, 54596, Republic of Korea.
Jae Youl ChoDepartment of Integrative Biotechnology, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Protopanaxatriol (PPT), one of the main active metabolic ginsenosides of ginseng, has been found to have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, but its role in regulating colon cancer development remained unclear. Purpose: We sought to confirm the inhibitory effect of PPT on colon cancer cells and elucidate its target and mechanism. Methods: MTT assay, colony formation, invasion, migration assays, cell apoptosis, and cell-cycle analysis were performed. Quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting, bioinformatic analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology, and cellular thermal shift assay experiments were also employed. Results: PPT can inhibit the cloning, migration, invasion, and proliferation of colon cancer cells. PPT can increase the number of apoptotic bodies, promote the expression of the apoptotic proteins caspase-9 and caspase-3, induce apoptosis, and inhibit cell proliferation. In addition, by regulating cyclin, PPT can increase the expression of p21 and p27 proteins and inhibit the expression of the cyclin D1 protein, thereby inhibiting the G1/S transformation in the cell cycle. We further demonstrated that PPT can target AKT, reduce its protein expression, and reduce tumor progression and the expression of inflammatory factors caused by AKT high expression (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6), thereby playing a role in inhibiting colon cancer progression. Conclusion: We are the first to demonstrate that the ginsenoside PPT can inhibit the activity of colon cancer cells by directly binding AKT.

Indexed as

AKTApoptosisCell cycleColon cancerGinsenosidesProtopanaxatriol

Identifiers

PMID40843020
PMCPMC12365516

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.