Traditional & Alternative Medicine

Infl ammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic infl ammatory disease of the colon associated with an increased colon cancer risk. Although infl ammation plays a key role, both the mechanistic understanding and the safe and eff ective treatment of ‘colitis’, are limited. Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) can off er a safe and eff ective option for the treatment of IBD. Over the past decade, we have shown that American Ginseng (AG) and a fraction of AG generated using Hexane as a solvent suppresses colitis and prevents colon cancer in mice. Mechanistically, it appears that key known nodes in the infl ammation to cancer sequence, including iNOS, p53, miRNAs (particularly miRNA-29b), and Nrf2, are involved. AG and some of its ingredients also suppress oxidative stress, and DNA damage associated with free radical production during infl ammation. Such fi ndings off er an explanation to the observation that AG and HAG prevent colon cancer associated with colitis. Recently, we have isolated one particularly active ingredient from AG, called Panaxynol. Excitingly, Panaxynol targets macrophages for DNA damage and associated cellular apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Preliminary fi ndings indicate that Panaxynol suppresses macrophage-driven mouse models of disease, including colitis. We are currently drilling deeper to understand the mechanisms. Overall, we have shown in many studies that AG suppresses colitis, and are in a position to begin clinical trials to show effi cacy in humans.