Ginsenosides compound (shen-fu) attenuates gastrointestinal injury and inhibits inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass in patients with congenital heart disease.

Objective: This study was undertaken to demonstrate that gastrointestinal mucosal injury occurs during cardiopulmonary bypass in children, increasing systemic inflammatory responses, and to determine whether shen-fu injection (the major components of which are ginsenosides compound, extract of Panax ginseng shown to have antioxidant properties) could attenuate gastrointestinal mucosal injury and subsequent inflammatory responses.

Methods: Twenty-four children undergoing heart surgery for congenital heart defects were randomly assigned to groups C (placebo control, n = 12) and G (1.35 mg/kg ginsenosides compound intravenously before and throughout the course of cardiopulmonary bypass, n = 12).