A fermented ginseng extract, BST204, inhibits proliferation and motility of human colon cancer cells

Panax ginseng CA Meyer, a herb from the Araliaceae, has traditionally been used as a medicinal plant in Asian countries. Ginseng extract fermented by ginsenoside-β-glucosidase treatment is enriched in ginsenosides such as Rh2 and Rg3. Here we show that a fermented ginseng extract, BST204, has anti-proliferative and anti-invasive effects on HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Treatment of HT-29 cells with BST204 induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase without progression to apoptosis. This cell cycle arrest was accompanied by up-regulation of tumor suppressor proteins, p53 and p21^WAF1/Cip1, down-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase/cyclins, Cdk2, cyclin E, and cyclin D1 involved in G₁ or G₁/S transition, and decrease in the phosphorylated form of retinoblastoma protein. In addition, BST204 suppressed the migration of HT-29 cells induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, which correlated with the inhibition of metalloproteinase-9 activity and extracellular signal-regulated kinase activity. The effects of BST204 on the proliferation and the invasiveness of HT-29 cells were similar to those of Rh2. Taken together, the results suggest that fermentation of ginseng extract with ginsenoside-β-glucosidase enhanced the anti-proliferative and the anti-invasive activity against human colon cancer cells and these anti-tumor effects of BST204 might be mediated in part by enriched Rh2.