Antioxidant activities of the oligosaccharides from the roots, flowers and leaves of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer

• Three oligosaccharides were isolated from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer roots (WGOS-R), flowers (WGOS-F) and leaves (WGOS-L), respectively.
• WGOS-R and WGOS-F possessed better antioxidant activity in vitro than WGOS-L.
• WGOS-R possessed significant antioxidant activity in vivo.

The chemical characterization and antioxidant activities of water-soluble ginseng oligosaccharides from roots (WGOS-R), flowers (WGOS-F) and leaves (WGOS-L) of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer obtained by hot water extraction were investigated. The sugar content of WGOS-R, WGOS-F and WGOS-L were 95.87%, 87.07% and 83.09%, respectively. The ginsenosides and total phenols content decreased in the order of WGOS-L > WGOS-F > WGOS-R. WGOS-R comprised only Glc, WGOS-F and WGOS-L comprised Glucose (Glc) and Rhamnose (Rha) in a molar ratio of 6.0:1.0 and 7.0:1.0, respectively. In vitro antioxidant tests showed that WGOS-R exhibited higher antioxidant activity than WGOS-F and WGOS-L. In vivo antioxidant tests showed that WGOS-R significantly enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capability (T-AOC) in the serum and liver and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the serum and liver.