• Effects of Ginseng extract on immunopathological changes in experimental renal infection caused by Listeria monocytogeneses in mice
  • Zahra Karamouz,1 Seyed Zanyar Athari,2 Younes Anzabi,3 Daryoush Mohajeri,4 Mir Alireza Nourazar,5,*
    1. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
    2. PhD Student at Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran.
    3. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
    4. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
    5. Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.


  • Introduction: Renal infection with Listeria spp. usually happens after intraperitoneal exposure to the microorganism. Hydroalcoholic extract of Panax Ginseng has multiple immunomodulatory effects. Ampicillin is known as an effective antibiotic in the treatment of this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Ginseng compared to ampicillin on experimental renal infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes.
  • Methods: For this purpose 30 mice, 5-7 weeks, were randomly divided into five groups of 6 animals each including Healthy Control, Infected, Ampicillin treatment (20 mg/kg-sc), Ginseng Treatment (250mg/kg-sc), and Ginseng (250 mg/kg-sc)+Ampicillin (15mg/kg-sc) treatment groups. Blood samples were collected, and the concentration of serum creatinine, serum Urea, murine cytokines in serum, such as Interleukin-1 (IL-1), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), and Tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α) were measured by ELISA. Histopathological changes were evaluated in renal tissues. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey test at the level of p<0.05 by SPSS and Graphpad software.
  • Results: Serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were significantly increased in the infected group (p<0.05). The cytokines significantly decreased in the Ampicillin+Ginseng treated group compared to the other experimental groups (p<0.05). Histopathological changes in kidney tissues were concomitant with biochemical findings.
  • Conclusion: The present study showed that the synergic effect of Ginseng extract and Ampicillin has an impressive efficacy on renal tissue injury caused by Listeriosis.
  • Keywords: Ginseng, Kidney, Listeriosis, Cytokines, Inflammation.