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Our previous reports demonstrated that i.p. administration of Korean red ginseng acidic polysaccharide (RGAP) exerts antitumor activity in mice. The present study was carried out to compare the effects of i.p. and p.o. routes of administration of RGAP on either normal or tumor-bearing BALB/c mice. RGAP was administered either i.p. or p.o. at doses of 100, 300, 500, 1000 ㎎/㎏ for 1 or 5 weeks. Peritoneal macrophages from mice treated with RGAP p.o. at a dose of 300 ㎎/㎏either for 1 or 5 weeks did not exhibit growth inhibition activity toward WEHI-164 tumor cells. However, administration of RGAP at a dose of 600 ㎎/㎏ for both 1 and 5 weeks increased the antitumor activity of macrophages. Oral administration of RGAP (600 ㎎/㎏) for 5 weeks and i.p. administration of RGAP (300 ㎎/㎏) for 1 week resulted in antitumor activities of 40% and 45%, respectively, indicating that the effect of i.p. injection is more potent 2 and 5 times than that of p.o. one in terms of dose and duration, respectively. Tumor inhibition rates of RGAP at doses of 300, 500, 1000 ㎎/㎏ in mice transplanted with B16-F10 melanoma were 4.4, 12.0, and 45.4%, respectively, meaning that p.o. dose higher than 500 ㎎/㎏ possess marked antitumor activity. The results above suggests that p.o. administration of RGAP also show antitumor activity in vivo depending on the dose.
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