Ginsenoside Rh3 is a natural product extracted from Ginseng C. A. Mey.Ginsenoside Rh3 has antifungal and antioxidant activities and induces Nrf2 activation in human retinal cells.

Ginsenoside Rh3（0.01、0.1、1 和 10 μM）在所有浓度下均未显示出细胞毒性效应。[2] 在视网膜细胞中，Ginsenoside Rh3处理可诱导Nrf2激活。Ginsenoside Rh3对视网膜色素上皮细胞（RPEs）中Nrf2信号传导的潜在活性进行了测试。qRT-PCR实验结果显示，Ginsenoside Rh3处理以剂量依赖性方式增加了Nrf2调控基因，包括HO1、NQO1和GCLC的mRNA转录和表达。因此，这些Nrf2依赖性基因（HO1、NQO1和GCLC）的蛋白表达在Ginsenoside Rh3（3-10 μM）处理的RPEs中也显著增加。值得注意的是，尽管Ginsenoside Rh3处理后Nrf2 mRNA水平未改变，但其蛋白水平却因Rh3显著增加[1]。使用EZ-Cytox方法评估了ginsenoside-Rh3对SP 1角蛋白细胞活性的影响。[2]

Ginsenoside Rh3（5 mg/kg；眼内注射；治疗前30分钟）显著减轻光照引起的a波和b波振幅下降。电视网膜图（ERG）显示，光照后a波降至对照水平的46.03±1.62%，而经Ginsenoside Rh3处理后恢复至71.84±7.51%。b波在光照作用下降至对照水平的40.19±3.34%，Rh3眼内注射后恢复至对照水平的80.01±2.37%。[1]

SP-1 keratinocytes are seeded in 96 well plates (2×10^4 cells/well). After 24 h, the media is replaced with media containing various concentrations of (A) SKRG, or (B) Ginsenoside Rh3 (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 μM). Control cells are treated with DMSO at a final concentration of 0.1%. After 24 h, the media containing the compounds or DMSO is replaced with media containing 10% EZ-Cytox. The cells are then incubated at 37°C for 1 h, and the absorbance is measured using a microplate reader at a wavelength of 450 nm. All assays are performed in triplicate [2].

The BALB/c mice (male, 5-6 week old, 17-18 g weight) are used. The pupillary dilation is performed before exposure to 5000 lx of white fluorescent light. Thirty min before light exposure, Ginsenoside Rh3 (at 5  mg/kg body weight) is injected intravitreally to the right eye. ERG recording after light exposure is also reported early. The b-wave amplitude is measured from the trough of the a-wave to the peak of the b-wave, and the amplitude of the a-wave is measured from the initial baseline [1].