Effect of ginseng ginsenosides on phase transitions of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine membranes

: The influence of dammaran triterpene glycosides (ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1) from Panax Ginseng C.A. Meyer and their aglycones on the phase transfers of multilayer vesicles of dipalmitoylphosphatidyl choline was studied. Ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 and aglycone 20(S) protopanaxatriol insignificantly modified the lipid gel phase and only in concentrations close to the equimolar ones insignificantly damaged the lipid covers and decreased the size of the cooperative unit. Aglycone 20(S) protopanaxadiol (PD) induced the formation of the second phase with a more solid cover of the lipids but a lower size of the cooperative unit by comparison with that of the pure lipid. The presence of cholesterol in an amount up to 5 mol per cent slightly influenced the interaction of the agents with the gel phase except for PD. In the presence of cholesterol PD did not induce the formation of the two phases and in an amount of 100 mol per cent eliminated the major transfer. The study suggested that PD interacted with the gel phase and did not penetrate into the bilayer deeper than the glycerol skeleton of the lipid molecule.