Effects of Korean red ginseng on the HIV-1 env sequence length and CpG dinucleotides

Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) and KRG combination therapies have demonstrated long-term benefits in HIV-1-infected patients. This study aimed to assess whether long-term KRG treatment influences sequence length (SL) and CpG700 content in the HIV-1 env gene.

880 wild-type, full-length env gene sequences were obtained from 482 samples via nested PCR or RT-PCR over a mean duration of 8.0 ± 8.0 years in 200 HIV-1-infected patients. SL and CpG700 content were compared between KRG-naïve (KN, n = 97) and KRG-experienced (KE, n = 103) patients at the time of sequencing, including during the antiretroviral therapy (ART) period. The number of patients with 1, 2, 3 and ≥4 sequenced interval samples was 113, 34, 15, and 38, respectively.

In the whole cohort, the correlation between SL and disease duration (DD) from diagnosis, both before and during ART, was significantly stronger in KE patients than in KN patients (P < 0.01), whereas CpG700 showed no such correlation with DD or KRG. To reduce selection bias, we further analyzed only patients with two or more samples sequenced samples; in this subgroup, both SL and CpG700 demonstrated significant correlations with DD and KRG, with correlation strength increasing as follow-up duration increased. Notably, in the high-intake group receiving prolonged, intensive KRG treatment, CpG700 correlated more strongly with KRG than with DD or SL.

Env SL and CpG700 content are significantly associated with KRG treatment, with the association between KRG and CpG700 becoming more evident over longer follow-up.