Compound Monograph

Ginsenoside Rf

Terpenoids Saponins Natural (plant-derived)

Ginsenoside Rf is a protopanaxatriol-type saponin found in Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and essentially absent from American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) — which makes it the standard chemical marker, paired with pseudoginsenoside F11, for telling the two species apart. Its distinctive pharmacology is analgesic: in rodents it inhibits neuronal calcium channels through a G protein by an opioid-independent route. That evidence is entirely preclinical, and the isolate is a trace, poorly absorbed component of the root.

Sources · 1

Where Does It Come From?

Ginsenoside Rf is a naturally occurring dammarane triterpenoid saponin (protopanaxatriol group), found in Asian ginseng. It is well tolerated orally (low toxicity).

Concentration

Content by Source

Concentrations not reported. No percent-dry-weight or mg/g figures have been published for this compound in its source plants.

Ginsenoside Rf at a Glance

Ginsenoside Rf is a triterpenoid saponin of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng). It belongs to the protopanaxatriol (PPT) family of dammarane ginsenosides — the same structural branch as ginsenoside Rg1 — and it is present in the root at only trace levels 3,4Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →.

Its single most useful property has nothing to do with the body: Rf is found in Asian ginseng and essentially absent in American ginseng, so it is a standard chemical marker used to tell the two species apart and to detect adulteration. It is the mirror image of pseudoginsenoside F11, which is abundant in American ginseng and absent in Asian — and the two markers are read together as a species-authentication pair 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →.

Its pharmacology, where it exists, is analgesic and centred on sensory neurons: Rf inhibits high-threshold calcium channels through a pertussis-toxin-sensitive G protein, produces antinociception in mice, and eases inflammatory and neuropathic pain in rats — all without acting through opioid receptors 3,4,5,6,7Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →Reference 5Nemmani KVS · 2003AnimalGinsenoside Rf potentiates U-50,488H-induced analgesia and inhibits tolerance to its analgesia in mice — animal modelView study →Reference 6Kim MK et al. · 2018AnimalAntinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ginsenoside Rf in a rat model of incisional pain — animal modelView study →Reference 7Li Y et al. · 2019AnimalGinsenoside Rf relieves mechanical hypersensitivity, depression-like behavior, and inflammatory reactions in chronic constriction injury rats — animal modelView study →. Two caveats run through everything below: the evidence is entirely preclinical, and like other ginsenoside saponins Rf is poorly absorbed by mouth 9,10Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →.

A Protopanaxatriol Saponin

Ginsenosides are usually sorted into two dammarane families by the shape of their sugar-bearing skeleton: protopanaxadiol (PPD) saponins such as ginsenoside Rb1 and protopanaxadiol itself, and protopanaxatriol (PPT) saponins such as ginsenoside Rg1 and Rf. The two branches differ by an extra hydroxyl group and carry their sugars at different positions — a distinction that matters for both metabolism and species chemistry 9Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →.

Rf sits firmly in the PPT branch, and this dictates what it becomes in the gut. When ginsenosides are taken orally, intestinal bacteria progressively strip their sugars (deglycosylation). PPT saponins like Rf are converted stepwise toward ginsenoside Rh1, then F1, then the protopanaxatriol aglycone — a different endpoint from the PPD branch, whose deglycosylation yields compound K 9Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →. In other words, Rf does not produce compound K; its metabolic fate runs through the PPT-type metabolites instead. This is worth stating because much ginsenoside pharmacology is really the pharmacology of these secondary metabolites, which are more absorbable than the parent saponins.

The Asian Ginseng Marker

The defining fact about Rf is a presence/absence contrast between two species. Ginsenoside Rf is present in Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and is not detected in American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →. That binary makes it one of the cleanest available fingerprints for distinguishing the two — and, unusually, it works even though Rf is only a trace component of the Asian root 3,4Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →. A marker does not need to be abundant; it needs to be reliably present in one species and absent in the other, and Rf qualifies.

Species identity is a real commercial problem. Asian and American ginseng command different prices and are used for different traditional purposes, and the dried, powdered or extracted root cannot be told apart by eye — so substitution and adulteration are common. Analytical chemists resolved this by watching a small panel of diagnostic saponins: ginsenoside Rf flags Asian ginseng, while 24(R)-pseudoginsenoside F11 flags American ginseng (present in P. quinquefolius, absent in P. ginseng) 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →. Because each marker is specific to one species, the two read together give an unambiguous call, and a mixture of the two roots shows both signals — which is exactly what makes the pair useful for spotting blends and adulteration.

Two foundational studies around 2000 established the approach: one used HPLC–tandem mass spectrometry to separate P. ginseng from P. quinquefolius 1Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →, and the other built an LC/MS authentication method applied to raw roots and commercial ginseng products 2Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →. The strategy has since become routine and has been extended with newer analytical platforms, but the logic is unchanged: Rf present means Asian ginseng; Rf absent (with F11 present) means American. In practical terms this analytical role — not any medicinal effect — is Rf’s most established and human-relevant use.

What It's Used For

The evidence base is modest, animal-only, and unusually coherent around a single theme: pain. Every application below rests on isolated Rf in rodents or cells, and the load-bearing caveat is that the isolate is a poorly absorbed trace saponin, so the doses that work in animals may not be reachable by an oral human dose 9,10Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →.

A genuine, distinctive preclinical analgesic signal:Rf inhibits neuronal high-threshold calcium channels through a pertussis-toxin-sensitive G protein and produces antinociception in mice — an opioid-independent mechanism (naloxone does not block it) that sets it apart from the mainstream Rb1/Rg1 ginsenosides 3,4,5Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →Reference 5Nemmani KVS · 2003AnimalGinsenoside Rf potentiates U-50,488H-induced analgesia and inhibits tolerance to its analgesia in mice — animal modelView study →.
Emerging, worth watching:Rf eases inflammatory and neuropathic pain in rats (incisional-pain and chronic-constriction-injury models), shifting the pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine balance and easing depression-like behaviour 6,7Reference 6Kim MK et al. · 2018AnimalAntinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ginsenoside Rf in a rat model of incisional pain — animal modelView study →Reference 7Li Y et al. · 2019AnimalGinsenoside Rf relieves mechanical hypersensitivity, depression-like behavior, and inflammatory reactions in chronic constriction injury rats — animal modelView study →.
Its most solid human-relevant role isn’t medicinal at all:Rf is the chemical marker used to authenticate Asian ginseng versus American ginseng and to detect adulteration 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →.
The honest headline on efficacy:there are no human trials of isolated Rf — the whole record is rodent/cell work on the isolate — and, as a trace, poorly absorbed saponin, its individual contribution to whole-ginseng effects is minor and unquantified 9,10Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →.
Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

Support is an experimental score — weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro) and volume, tempered for isolate-vs-plant match and bioavailability. A beta, not a validated metric. Every row rests on isolated Rf in animals or cells (no human data), so scores are capped accordingly. Each application links to its write-up.

Mechanisms

Target / pathwayEffectRelevant to
N-type (and other high-threshold) voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels via pertussis-toxin-sensitive Gi/Go proteininhibits Ca²⁺ influx in sensory neurons — opioid-magnitude but naloxone-insensitive
analgesia
Non-opioid, non-dihydropyridine Ca²⁺ / non-benzodiazepine GABAₐ pathwayspotentiates kappa-opioid (U-50,488H) analgesia; blunts tolerance
analgesia
Pro-/anti-inflammatory cytokine balance (↓ IL-1β/TNF-α, ↑ IL-10) in spinal cord/DRGeases mechanical allodynia and depression-like behaviour
inflammatory / neuropathic pain
PPARγ + perilipin (adipocyte)downregulates adipogenic transcription; reduces lipid accumulation
metabolic / anti-adipogenic
Gut-microbial deglycosylation (Rf → Rh1 → F1 → protopanaxatriol)converts the parent saponin to more absorbable PPT-type metabolites (not compound K)
pharmacokinetics

The unifying read is a G-protein-coupled, opioid-independent analgesic that also damps neuroinflammation — a pain-focused profile distinct from the neurotrophic/vascular Rg1 and the sedating Rb1 3,5,7Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →Reference 5Nemmani KVS · 2003AnimalGinsenoside Rf potentiates U-50,488H-induced analgesia and inhibits tolerance to its analgesia in mice — animal modelView study →Reference 7Li Y et al. · 2019AnimalGinsenoside Rf relieves mechanical hypersensitivity, depression-like behavior, and inflammatory reactions in chronic constriction injury rats — animal modelView study →.

Pharmacokinetics

Poor oral absorption is the load-bearing fact, as for all ginsenoside saponins. Rf is a large, glycosylated triterpenoid that crosses the gut wall badly, so systemic exposure after an oral dose is small; robust isolate-specific human ADME (Cmax, half-life, oral bioavailability) is not established 10Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →. What is well characterised is its metabolic route: intestinal bacteria deglycosylate Rf down the protopanaxatriol branch — Rf → Rh1 → F1 → the protopanaxatriol aglycone — so much of the “active” exposure after an oral dose is to these secondary metabolites rather than to intact Rf, and, critically, none of it is compound K (the compound-K endpoint belongs to the protopanaxadiol saponins) 9Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →. Rf can also be converted cleanly to Rh1 by β-glucosidase enzymatically, which is used to produce the metabolite for study 9Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →. The practical consequence mirrors the rest of the ginsenoside class: dosing intact Rf orally delivers little parent molecule to tissue, and the mechanisms seen in isolated sensory neurons are not what an oral dose achieves in a person.

Clinical Trials

There are no clinical trials of isolated ginsenoside Rf. All human ginseng data are at the whole-extract level (standardised Panax ginseng products), where Rf is one of many saponins — and a trace one at that — so its individual contribution cannot be isolated. The isolated-molecule literature is entirely preclinical.

CompletedPlannedTerminatedPreclinical
None(isolated Rf)None identifiedNoneModerate

Last checked: July 2026.

Isolate vs. Plant Studies

The two evidence bases point in different directions. All of Rf’s pharmacology is the isolated molecule in rodents or cells — the calcium-channel/G-protein analgesia 3Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →, the mouse antinociception 4Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →, the kappa-opioid potentiation 5Reference 5Nemmani KVS · 2003AnimalGinsenoside Rf potentiates U-50,488H-induced analgesia and inhibits tolerance to its analgesia in mice — animal modelView study →, the inflammatory and neuropathic-pain work 6,7Reference 6Kim MK et al. · 2018AnimalAntinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ginsenoside Rf in a rat model of incisional pain — animal modelView study →Reference 7Li Y et al. · 2019AnimalGinsenoside Rf relieves mechanical hypersensitivity, depression-like behavior, and inflammatory reactions in chronic constriction injury rats — animal modelView study →, and the adipocyte PPARγ study 8Reference 8Siraj FM et al. · 2015In vitroStructural investigation of ginsenoside Rf with PPARγ major transcriptional factor of adipogenesis and its impact on adipocyte — in vitroView study → all test Rf directly. As a preclinical mechanism base for the isolate, that is a genuine strength: the effects are attributed to Rf specifically, not inferred from a mixture.

The human evidence, by contrast, does not exist for the isolate. People who take Asian ginseng consume it as whole standardised root or extract, where Rf sits alongside the far more abundant ginsenoside Rg1 and ginsenoside Rb1, processed saponins such as ginsenoside Rg3, and the immunoactive polysaccharide fraction — and the herb’s clinical reputation rests on those whole-extract trials, not on isolated Rf. Because Rf is only a trace component of the root, its individual share of any whole-ginseng effect is small and unquantified. So the correct framing is: a distinctive isolate mechanism in animals, no human isolate data, and a real bioavailability gap between the two 9,10Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →. Rf’s one firmly human-relevant role — as a species marker — is analytical, not therapeutic 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →.

Prevalence in Nature

Rf is characteristically a constituent of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), where it occurs in the root as a trace, protopanaxatriol-type saponin — routinely detected in root profiles but present at much lower levels than the headline saponins Rg1 and Rb1 3,4Reference 3Nah SY et al. · 1995In vitroA trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons)View study →Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →. It is not detected in American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) — the presence/absence contrast that underpins its use as a marker and mirrors the opposite pattern of pseudoginsenoside F11 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →.

Reported Rf content varies with plant part, cultivation age, provenance and processing (red versus white ginseng), and — because Rf is a low-abundance saponin — clean, comparable % dry-weight figures across sources are not well pinned down in the material reviewed here; that quantitative hole is tracked in this compound’s gaps note rather than papered over with an invented number.

Discovery & Synthesis

A firm first-isolation report for Rf specifically is not well documented in the indexed literature. The “Rf” designation itself is the historical clue: the major ginsenosides were named Ra through Rg by Shibata and co-workers in the 1960s according to their mobility (Rf value) on thin-layer chromatography — so Rf’s name records its analytical position in that early series rather than a single dated isolation paper, and the origin is left deliberately soft here.

What is well documented is Rf’s arrival as an analytical marker around 2000, when HPLC–MS methods established it as the diagnostic saponin for Asian ginseng in species-authentication work 1,2Reference 1Li W et al. · 2000Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng CView study →Reference 2Chan TW et al. · 2000Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MSView study →. Manufacture today is by extraction and chromatographic purification from Panax ginseng biomass; because Rf is a minor saponin even in its richest natural source, obtaining pure isolate is non-trivial, and it can alternatively be produced by enzymatic conversion (for example, β-glucosidase converts it to Rh1) rather than total synthesis 9Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →. Rf is sold as an isolated reference/research compound (CAS 52286-58-5).

Patents: not yet researched.

Toxicity & Safety

Ginsenoside Rf carries a low toxicity flag, but this rests more on the long dietary history of Asian ginseng than on dedicated study of the isolate. Asian ginseng root has been consumed for centuries with a generally good safety record, Rf is present only in trace amounts, and its preclinical work reports therapeutic (analgesic, anti-inflammatory) effects rather than toxicity at the doses used 4,6,7Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →Reference 6Kim MK et al. · 2018AnimalAntinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ginsenoside Rf in a rat model of incisional pain — animal modelView study →Reference 7Li Y et al. · 2019AnimalGinsenoside Rf relieves mechanical hypersensitivity, depression-like behavior, and inflammatory reactions in chronic constriction injury rats — animal modelView study →. Its poor oral absorption further limits systemic exposure from an oral dose 10Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →.

The honest caveat is that formal safety characterisation of the isolate is largely missing. Comprehensive acute/chronic toxicity, genotoxicity and reproductive-toxicity studies of purified Rf have not been reported, and no dedicated drug-interaction studies of isolated Rf (CYP isoforms, P-glycoprotein) exist. The practical reference point is the general Asian-ginseng cautions — possible effects on blood glucose, and theoretical additive effects with anticoagulant/antiplatelet or stimulant drugs — applied to the whole herb rather than to this molecule. Reproductive and developmental safety of the isolate is uncharacterised; because ginsenosides as a class have shown developmental effects in some in-vitro embryo models, this is a gap rather than a clean bill of health. Pregnancy and lactation decisions belong to the herb or product page where intake is decided, not to this molecule page.

Safety at a Glance
Low / no toxicity
  • Long dietary history of the source plant. Asian ginseng, in which Rf occurs as a trace saponin, has centuries of traditional food/medicinal use with a generally good safety record.
  • No toxicity signal in the preclinical record. Rf’s animal studies report analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, not harm, at the doses tested.
  • The isolate is essentially uncharacterised for safety. No formal acute/chronic, genotoxicity or reproductive-toxicity studies of purified Rf exist.
  • Interactions unstudied for the molecule. No CYP/P-gp or clinical interaction data for isolated Rf; apply the whole-herb ginseng cautions (blood glucose, anticoagulant/stimulant additivity) instead.
  • Poorly absorbed by mouth, like other ginsenoside saponins, which makes both efficacy and systemic exposure hard to predict in people.

Dosage

There is no established human dose of isolated ginsenoside Rf — it is a trace research compound, not a standardized supplement. For orientation only, the analgesic effects above were produced in rodents at tens of milligrams per kilogram (for example, an antinociceptive ED₅₀ of about 56 mg/kg in the mouse writhing test), doses chosen for the experiment rather than validated for people 4,5Reference 4Mogil JS et al. · 1998AnimalGinsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal modelView study →Reference 5Nemmani KVS · 2003AnimalGinsenoside Rf potentiates U-50,488H-induced analgesia and inhibits tolerance to its analgesia in mice — animal modelView study →. Because ginsenoside saponins are poorly absorbed and heavily metabolised in the gut, an oral milligram figure does not map cleanly onto delivered exposure 9,10Reference 9Hasegawa H · 2004ReviewProof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — reviewView study →Reference 10Li P et al. · 2025Systematic reviewSystematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic reviewView study →.

In practice, human intake of Rf happens only through whole Asian-ginseng root or standardized extract, where it is one of many saponins — and a trace one — so its individual dose is neither controlled nor known. These are doses studied in research and are not a personal recommendation.

References

  1. Li W, Gu C, Zhang H, et al. (2000). Use of high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to distinguish Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (Asian ginseng) and Panax quinquefolius L. (North American ginseng). Analytical Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11080895/
  2. Chan TW, But PP, Cheng SW, et al. (2000). Differentiation and authentication of Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, and ginseng products by using HPLC/MS. Analytical Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10740871/
  3. Nah SY, Park HJ, McCleskey EW. (1995). A trace component of ginseng that inhibits Ca2+ channels through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein — in vitro (sensory neurons). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 92(19), 8739–8743. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7568008/
  4. Mogil JS, Shin YH, McCleskey EW, et al. (1998). Ginsenoside Rf, a trace component of ginseng root, produces antinociception in mice — animal model. Brain Research, 792(2), 218–228. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9593902/
  5. Nemmani KVS, Ramarao P. (2003). Ginsenoside Rf potentiates U-50,488H-induced analgesia and inhibits tolerance to its analgesia in mice — animal model. Life Sciences, 72(7), 759–768. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12479975/
  6. Kim MK, Kang H, Baek CW, et al. (2018). Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of ginsenoside Rf in a rat model of incisional pain — animal model. Journal of Ginseng Research, 42(2), 183–191. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29719465/
  7. Li Y, Chen C, Li S, Jiang C. (2019). Ginsenoside Rf relieves mechanical hypersensitivity, depression-like behavior, and inflammatory reactions in chronic constriction injury rats — animal model. Phytotherapy Research, 33(4), 1095–1103. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30740801/
  8. Siraj FM, Natarajan S, Huq MA, et al. (2015). Structural investigation of ginsenoside Rf with PPARγ major transcriptional factor of adipogenesis and its impact on adipocyte — in vitro. Journal of Ginseng Research, 39(2), 141–147. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26045687/
  9. Hasegawa H. (2004). Proof of the mysterious efficacy of ginseng: metabolic activation of ginsenoside — deglycosylation by intestinal bacteria and esterification with fatty acid — review. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences, 95(2), 153–157. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15215638/
  10. Li P, Zhao LC, Sun YS, Li W. (2025). Systematic review and pharmacological insights of ginsenoside Rf: current status and future perspectives — systematic review. Phytomedicine, 148, 157403. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41109042/