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Review
. 2022 Mar;46(2):175-182.
doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2022.01.002. Epub 2022 Jan 19.

COVID-19 and Panax ginseng: Targeting platelet aggregation, thrombosis and the coagulation pathway

Yuan Yee Lee  1   2   3 , Yixian Quah  4 , Jung-Hae Shin  1   2   3 , Hyuk-Woo Kwon  5 , Dong-Ha Lee  6 , Jee Eun Han  2 , Jin-Kyu Park  2 , Sung Dae Kim  2 , Dongmi Kwak  2 , Seung-Chun Park  2 , Man Hee Rhee  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 and Panax ginseng: Targeting platelet aggregation, thrombosis and the coagulation pathway

Yuan Yee Lee et al. J Ginseng Res. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) not only targets the respiratory system but also triggers a cytokine storm and a series of complications, such as gastrointestinal problems, acute kidney injury, and myocardial ischemia. The use of natural products has been utilized to ease the symptoms of COVID-19, and in some cases, to strengthen the immune system against COVID-19. Natural products are readily available and have been regularly consumed for various health benefits. COVID-19 has been reported to be associated with the risk of thromboembolism and deep vein thrombosis. These thrombotic complications often affects mortality and morbidity. Panax ginseng, which has been widely consumed for its various health benefits has also been reported for its therapeutic effects against cardiovascular disease, thrombosis and platelet aggregation. In this review, we propose that P. ginseng can be consumed as a supplementation against the various associated complications of COVID-19, especially against thrombosis. We utilized the network pharmacology approach to validate the potential therapeutic properties of P. ginseng against COVID-19 mediated thrombosis, the coagulation pathway and platelet aggregation. Additionally, we aimed to investigate the roles of P. ginseng against COVID-19 with the involvement of platelet-leukocyte aggregates in relation to immunity-related responses in COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coagulation; Panax ginseng; Platelet aggregation; Thrombosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The merged network of the COVID-19 network from STRING: disease query using the StringApp (http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/stringapp) in Cytoscape 3.9.0 (http://www.cytoscape.org) and the Panax ginseng network from STRING: PubMed query showing the possible target proteins of Panax ginseng against COVID-19. The network contains 89 nodes and 109 edges when set to a confidence of 0.990.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Expanding the network related to the coagulation pathway. The cluster related to the coagulation pathway was expanded with the help of StringApp (http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/stringapp). The added proteins were marked as yellow while original proteins were shown in blue. Network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.9.0 (http://www.cytoscape.org).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The proposed target pathway of Panax ginseng against COVID-19. GPVI, glycoprotein VI; GPIb-IX-V, Glycoprotein Ib-IX-V complex; TXA2, thromboxane A2; αIIbβ3, integrin αIIbβ3; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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