The Korean Society of Ginseng 261 http://ginsengres.org pISSN: 1226-8453 eISSN: 2093-4947 Review Article J Ginseng Res Vol. 37, No. 3, 261-268 (2013) http://dx.doi.org/10.5142/jgr.2013.37.261 E-mail: dcyang@khu.ac.kr Tel: +82-31-201-2100, Fax: +82-31-205-2688 * Corresponding author INTRODUCTION Bone remodeling occurs throughout life via synthesis of bone matrix through the action of two major bone cells: osteoblasts and osteoclasts [1-3]. Osteoclasts are responsible for bone resorption, while osteoblasts are responsible for bone formation [4,5]. The proper func- tioning of these cells is necessary for the maintenance of bone mass as well as bone mineral density (BMD). During old age and especially postmenopause there is excessive bone resorption relative to bone formation due - mately causes bone diseases and osteoporosis [6,7]. Osteoporosis is a widespread health dilemma and its occurrence is projected to rise in the upcoming decades due to the aging of many societies [8]. It is a bone disease that is thought to cause stumpy bone mass and micro- Ginseng saponins and the treatment of osteoporosis: mini literature review Muhammad Hanif Siddiqi, Muhammad Zubair Siddiqi, Sungeun Ahn, Sera Kang, Yeon-Ju Kim, Natarajan Sathishkumar, Dong-Uk Yang, and Deok-Chun Yang * Korean Ginseng Center & Ginseng Genetic Resource Bank, Kyung Hee University, Suwon 449-701, Korea The ginseng plant (Panax ginseng Meyer) has a large number of active ingredients including steroidal saponins with a dammarane skeleton as well as protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol, commonly known as ginsenosides, which have antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-adipocyte, and sexual enhancing effects. Though several discoveries have demonstrated that ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) as the most important therapeutic agent for the treatment of osteoporosis, yet the molecular mechanism of its active metabolites is unknown. In this review, we summarize the evidence supporting the therapeutic properties of ginsenosides both in vivo and in vitro, with an emphasis on the different molecular agents comprising receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand, receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B, and matrix metallopeptidase-9, as well as the bone morphogenetic protein-2 and Smad signaling pathways. Keywords: Panax ginseng, Ginsenosides, Osteoporosis, Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand, Bone morphogenetic protein-2 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Cre- ative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecom- mons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Received 03 Jul. 2012, Revised 02 Nov. 2012, Accepted 05 Dec. 2012 architectural weakening of bone materials, enhance bone brittleness, decrease bone strength, and subsequently increase the threat of fracture [9]. Osteoporosis causes distress throughout the United States, Europe, China, Japan and the rest of the world [10]. According to the World Health Organization, almost 75 million people in the United States, Europe, and Japan are affected by os- teoporosis [11]. TYPES OF OSTEOPOROSIS There are two main types of osteoporosis: primary osteoporosis and secondary osteoporosis. Primary osteo- porosis is usually associated with aging and low levels of reproductive hormones, especially estrogen, which leads Edited by Jong-Hoon Kim, Chonbuk National University, Korea