Korean Red Ginseng Extract Increases Apoptosis by Activation of the Noxa Pathway in Colorectal Cancer.

Although the anticancer activity of Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) has been known in various cancers, the mechanism of KRG-induced apoptosis is unknown in colorectal cancer (CRC). In our study, we examined whether KRG induces apoptosis in CRC cells. In the cell viability assay, the concentration of the appropriate KRG extracts was fixed at 2.5 mg/mL in numerous CRC cells. This fixed concentration was in other experiments, and it was confirmed that the KRG extracts induce apoptosis in CRC cells. We found that KRG induced Noxa activation and apoptosis and increased endoplasmic reticulum stress via reactive oxygen species production. This indicated that KRG efficiently enhanced cell death in CRC cells. Our results show that KRG can be used as a possible anticancer drug for patients with CRC.