The antitussive effects of Korean red ginseng on citric acid-induced cough in Guinea pigs

Cough which is also called “tussis” entails the rapid expulsion of air from the lungs against a closed glottis and has a characteristic sound. This study was done to investigate the cough suppression potential of Korean Red Ginseng extract in Guinea Pigs. The animals exhibiting 10-20 bouts of cough were selected for the study. The selected animals were randomly allotted to 5 groups (n=5 per group). The animals were treated orally: group 1, being the control, received 2ml of normal saline, group 2 received 25 mg/kg of dihydrocodeine, group 3 received 150 mg/kg of Korean Red Ginseng extract, group 4 received 300 mg/kg of the extract and group 5 received 600 mg/kg of the extract. An hour after administration, they were re-exposed to citric acid aerosol, and the latency of cough and cough count were recorded. The procedure was repeated after 2 hours and after 3 hours of treatment. The antitussive activity was then evaluated in each guinea pig as the percentage reduction in the number of coughs also known as percentage suppression of cough and percentage increase in latency of cough. The results revealed that Korean Red Ginseng extract exhibited a dose-dependent percentage increase in cough latency period as well as a percentage increase in suppression of cough which were inferior to dihydrocodeine, but significantly greater than normal saline and basal levels. It is probable that the Korean Red Ginseng extract possesses cough suppression and central nervous system effects similar to that of dihydrocodeine.