A literature update elucidating production of Panax ginsenosides with a special focus on strategies enriching the anti-neoplastic minor ginsenosides in ginseng preparations

Abstract

Ginseng, an oriental gift to the world of healthcare and preventive medicine, is among the top ten medicinal herbs globally. The constitutive triterpene saponins, ginsenosides, or panaxosides are attributed to ginseng's miraculous efficacy towards anti-aging, rejuvenating, and immune-potentiating benefits. The major ginsenosides such as Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd., Re, and Rg1, formed after extensive glycosylations of the aglycone "dammaranediol," dominate the chemical profile of this genus in vivo and in vitro. Elicitations have successfully led to appreciable enhancements in the production of these major ginsenosides. However, current research on ginseng biotechnology has been focusing on the enrichment or production of the minor ginsenosides (the less glycosylated precursors of the major ginsenosides) in ginseng preparations, which are either absent or are produced in very low amounts in nature or via cell cultures. The minor ginsenosides under current scientific scrutiny include diol ginsenosides such as Rg3, Rh2, compound K, and triol ginsenosides Rg2 and Rh1, which are being touted as the next "anti-neoplastic pharmacophores," with better bioavailability and potency as compared to the major ginsenosides. This review aims at describing the strategies for ginsenoside production with special attention towards production of the minor ginsenosides from the major ginsenosides via microbial biotransformation, elicitations, and from heterologous expression systems.

Yeast Extract Stimulates Ginsenoside Production in Hairy Root Cultures of American Ginseng Cultivated in Shake Flasks and Nutrient Sprinkle Bioreactors

“…Elicitation strategies were used by many authors to enhance the levels of ginseng saponins in different in vitro cultures of Panax spp. such as cell suspensions, adventitious and hairy roots [ 51 ]. The most common and widely used elicitor for improvement of ginsenoside biosynthesis is methyl jasmonate (MeJa).…”

The content of triterpene saponins and phenolic compounds in American ginseng hairy root extracts and their antioxidant and cytotoxic properties

“…Nowadays more than 150 types of ginsenosides are known; they are subdivided into two main classes according to their sapogenin (terpenoid backbone): Rb and Rg groups. Rb ginsenosides, such as Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd metabolites, are (20) S protopanaxadiol derivatives, while the Rg group, such as Rg1 and Re metabolites, have (20) S protopanaxatriol as a sapogenin (Biswas et al 2017). Many pharmacological investigations (Christensen 2009;Tung et al 2012; indicate that ginsenosides are responsible for the adaptogenic, antidiabetic, antitumor Pawar and Shivakumar 2012;Wang et al 2015), anti-obesity (Marrelli et al 2016) and neuroprotective (Radad et al 2011) properties of ginseng.…”

Strontium Modified Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate Scaffold Incorporating Ginsenoside Rg1/Gelatin Microspheres for Bone Regeneration

“…As a precious medicine, Panax ginseng C. A. has always been regarded as the king of herbs. Ginsenosides are considered to be active ingredients in ginseng ( Lee and Kim, 2014 ; Biswas et al, 2017 ; Mohanan et al, 2018 ). The dose of Ginsenosides Rg1 was reported to have influence on cell growth and tissue differentiation such as adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) ( Liang et al, 2019 ), neural stem cells ( Li et al, 2015 ; Gao et al, 2017a ), and human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) ( Wang et al, 2012 ).…”