The root of Panax ginseng C.A.meyer are one of the most important oriental crude drugs used for a psychiatric, neurologic and diabetes mellitus treatment. Researchers from japan isolated sixteen acetylenic compounds from the roots of this plant and tested them for their cytotoxic activites on murine and human malignant cells in vitro. Some of the acetylenes showed more potent cytotoxicity than 5-fluoroursil (5-FU) and cisplatin (CDDP). Of the active compounds, panaxydol showed the most potenet cytotoxic activity.

The acetylenic compound were tested for their cytotoxicity using murine and human malignant cell lines, Kirsten murine sarcoma virus-transformed NIH/3T3 (DT cells), mouse fibroblast NIH/3T3 cells, murine lymphoma L1210 cells and human mammary carcinoma MCF7 cells in vitro. The results showed that the acetylenic compounds isolated from the root possesses cytotoxic effects on several cancer cells and could be lead compound for usefulchemotherapeutic agents (Hirakuraetal,NaturalMed,2000,54,342).