Metabolic Activities of Ginseng and Its Constituents, Ginsenoside Rb₁and Rg₁, by Human Intestinal Microflora

Abstract

To evaluate the difference in expressing pharmacological effects of ginseng by intestinal microflora between Koreans, metabolic activities of ginseng, ginsenoside Rb1 and Rg1 by 100 fecal specimens were measured. The β-glucosidase activity for p-nitrophenyl- β-D-glucopyranoside was 0 to 0.42 μmol/min/mg and its average activity (mean±SD) was 0.10±0.07 μmol/min/mg. The metabolic activities of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1 were 0.01 to 0.42 and 0.01 to 0.38 pmol/min/mg, respectively. Their average activities were 0.25±0.08 and 0.15±0.09 pmol/min/mg, respectively. The compound K-forming activities from ginsenoside Rb1 and ginseng extract were 0 to 0.11 and 0 to 0.02 pmol/min/mg, respectively. Their average compound K-forming activities were 0.24±0.09 pmol/min/ mg and 2.14±3.66 fmol/min/mg, respectively. These activities all were not different between males and females, or between ages. Although compound K-forming activity from the aqueous extract of ginseng was low compared to that from ginenoside Rb1, their profiles were similar to those of isolated compounds. Based on these findings, we believe that the intestinal bacterial metabolic activities of ginseng components are variable in individuals and may be used as selection markers for responders to ginseng.

Mucilaginibacter pocheonensis sp. nov., with ginsenoside-converting activity, isolated from soil of a ginseng-cultivating field

“…Among them, a strain designated as Gsoil 032 T isolated from soil of a ginseng field in Pocheon Province (South Korea) which could convert ginsenoside Rb 1 became the subject of a taxonomic investigation. Biotransformation of ginsenoside (deglycosylation) can be achieved by hydrolysing and removing sugar moieties from the major ginsenosides such as Rb 1 , Rb 2 , Rc and Rd using bacterial and fungal strains Choi et al, 2011;Cui et al, 2011;Quan et al, 2011;Chang et al, 2014) because the efficacy of deglycosylated ginsenosides such as Rg 3 , Rh 2 , F 2 and compound K (C-K) increases †These authors contributed equally to this work.…”

Effect of Fermented Red Ginseng Extract Enriched in Ginsenoside Rg3 on the Differentiation and Mineralization of Preosteoblastic MC3T3-E1 Cells

“…[12][13][14] Till now, very few studies have used fermented red ginseng extract (FRGE) for studying bone formation and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a common bone disease, especially in women, and it affects more than 12% of the population throughout the world.…”

Gut Microbiota-Mediated Drug Interactions between Lovastatin and Antibiotics

“…The role of gut microbiota in the metabolism of orally administered compounds or phytochemicals has been investigated extensively. Representative examples of compounds metabolized by gut microbiota include ginsenosides, cycasin, rutin, baicalin, hesperidin, and genistin (Choi et al, 2011;Saad et al, 2012). Some drugs, such as acetaminophen, chloramphenicol, digoxin, and sulfasalazine have also been shown to be affected by gut microbial metabolism (Saad et al, 2012).…”