Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental disorder that can develop after exposure to extreme stress. Korean red ginseng, whose major active component is ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3), is a widely used traditional antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and anxiolytics effects. This study investigated whether the administration of Rg3 ameliorated the memory deficit induced by a single prolonged stress (SPS) in rats. Male rats were dosed with Rg3 (25 or 50 mg/kg) once daily for 14 days after exposure to SPS. Rg3 administration improved fear memory and spatial memory might be involved in modulating the dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and monoamine imbalance in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. It also increased the reduction in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) mRNAs expression, and the ratio of p-Akt/Akt in the hippocampus. Thus, Rg3 exerted memory-improving actions might be involved in regulating HPA axis and activating BDNF-TrkB pathway. Our findings suggest that Rg3 could be useful for preventing traumatic stress, such as PTSD.

创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 是一种严重的精神障碍，可在暴露于极端压力后发展。高丽红参的主要活性成分是人参皂苷 Rg3 (Rg3)，是一种广泛使用的传统抗氧化剂，具有抗炎、抗细胞凋亡和抗焦虑作用。本研究调查了 Rg3 的施用是否改善了大鼠单一长期应激 (SPS) 引起的记忆缺陷。雄性大鼠在暴露于 SPS 后每天一次服用 Rg3（25 或 50 mg/kg），持续 14 天。Rg3 给药改善恐惧记忆和空间记忆可能参与调节下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺 (HPA) 轴失调和内侧前额叶皮质和海马体中的单胺失衡。它还增加了脑源性神经营养因子 (BDNF) 和原肌球蛋白相关激酶 B (TrkB) mRNA 表达的减少，以及海马中 p-Akt/Akt 的比率。因此，Rg3 发挥记忆改善作用可能与调节 HPA 轴和激活 BDNF-TrkB 通路有关。我们的研究结果表明，Rg3 可用于预防创伤性压力，例如 PTSD。