EFFECTS OF PANAX GINSENG ROOT ON CONDITIONED AVOIDANCE RESPONSE IN RATS

Abstract

Pole climbing and shuttle box tests were employed to study conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and discrimination behavior in Wistar male rats given extracts from P. ginseng root i.p. Neutral saponins (GNS), a water soluble fraction (GF4) which did not contain saponins and a lipid soluble fraction (GNo. 5) inhibited CAR and discrimination ability between 500 Hz sound with electric shock (SD) and 1000 Hz sound without shock (S.DELTA.). Small doses of GNo. 5 and ginenoside Rg fraction (GRg) produced a slight shortening of the response latency (RL) to the conditioned stimulus in CAR. GNo. 5 produced the incorrect response to S.DELTA.. Significant changes in the extinction of CAR were not evident with any fraction. P. ginseng root apparently contain at least 3 sedative compounds.