Abstract
Three hundred gram of Korean ginseng root was extracted with 95% ethanol on a boiling water bath for about 300 hr. Evaporation of alcohol yieled 50.2g of dark brown residue which was used by dissolving 4 mg of the residue in 1 ml of physiological saline. The ginseng group and the saline group received each day 0.5 ml per 100 g body weight of ginseng extract and physiological saline, respectively. Both the ginseng and saline group with stress were exposed to positive radial acceleration (1∼29g), cold (5$^{\circ}C$, 0$^{\circ}C$ &-10$^{\circ}C$) and heat (35$^{\circ}C$) environment, and surgical stress. After termination of the last stress, the tolerance, body weight, visceral organ weight, basal metabolism rate, rectal temperature, the number of erythrocyte and leucocyte, hemoglobin level, hematocrit ratio, total serum protein content and it's fraction and the content of adrenal ascorbic acid in the experimental animal exposed to stress were measured and at the corresponding periods, the same measurements were also carried out with the ginseng and the saline groups without stress exposure (serving as control). Results obtained were as follows. 1. Administration of ginseng does depressed the decrease of the tolerance, body weight, visceral organ weight, basal metabolism rate, the number of erythrocyte, hemoglobin value, hematocrit ratio and the A/G ratio in the mice and rats exposed to various stress. 2. The change of the rectal temperature, eosinophile counts, total serum protein content and the content of adrenal ascorbic acid of ginseng group that exposured to various stress facilitates the reaction to, and accelerates the recovery from the stress. 3. Even after hypophysectomy which served the link between the central and the peripheral portion of the stress mechanism, the adrenal ascorbic acid content of ginseng group decreased significantly more than that of the saline group 30 min. after administration of ACTH, while the value approached the normal level significantly closer in the ginseng group than in the saline group 1 and 2 hr after ACTH administration. Judging from the above results, it is concluded that administration of ginseng extract tolerated the experimental animals under the environment of stressfu1 stmuli, although the ginseng has no significant influence upon the stress mechanism in the absence of stressful stimuli. The site of action of the ginseng appears to be in the peripheral portion of the stress mechanism.