Ginseng metabolite

Choi, D.-W., Jung, J., Ha, Y. I., Park, H.-W., In, D. S., Chung, H.-J., and Liu, J. R. (2005). Analysis of transcripts in methyl jasmonate-treated ginseng hairy roots to identify genes involved in the biosjmthesis of ginsenosides and other secondary metabolites. Plant Cell Rep. 23, 557-566. 

Hasegawa, H., Sung, J.-H., Matsumiya, S., and Uchiyama, M. (1996). Main ginseng saponin metabolites formed by intestinal bacteria. Planta Med. 62, 453 57. 

Kim, D.-H., Jung, J.-S., Moon, Y.-S., Sung, J.-H., Suh, H.-W., Kim, Y.-H., and Song, D.-K. (2003a). Inhibition of intracerebroventricular injection stress induced plasma corticosterone levels by intracerebroventricularly administered compound K, a ginseng saponin metabolite, in mice. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 26,1035-1038. 

Wakabayashi, C., Hasegawa, H., Murata, J., and Saiki, 1. (1997). In vivo antimetastatic action of ginseng protopanaxadiol saponins is based on their intestinal bacterial metabolites after oral administration. Oncol. Res. 9, 411-417. 

Comparison of Metabolite Content on Root Tip Parts of P. ginseng Hairy Roots... 

We investigated the effect of inoculum conditions such as the part, number, and length of root tips age of the hairy roots and size of inoculant on the growth and metabolite biosynthesis of P. ginseng C. A. Meyer hairy root culture. The growth of P. ginseng hairy roots in shake-flask cultures was found to vary depending on the inoculum conditions. The end part, whose apical meristem of root tip had been excised prior to inoculation,... 

Although plant cell culture has been demonstrated to be a useful method for the production of valuable secondary metabolites, many problems arise during bioprocess scale-up (Table 2). At present, there are only a few industrial processes in operation using plant cell cultures, which include shikonin, ginseng... 

Some secondary metabolites have been observed in much higher concentrations in cultured cells than in whole plants of the same species. These include ginsengosides from Panax ginseng (27% of cell dry weight in culture, 4.5% in whole plants), anthraquinones from Morinda citrafolia (18% in culture, 2.2% in plants) and shikonin from Lithospernum erythrorhizon (12 % in culture, 1.5 % in plants) [19,20]. 

The blood radioactivity decreased in a triphasic manner after intravenous injection of [3H]ginsenoside Rgl to mice (Liu and Xiao, 1992). Other Chinese studies have characterized the biotransformation of ginsenoside 20(1S)-Rg2, one of the main constituents of ginseng roots and leaves. Its metabolism is complex and involves multiple hydrolysis reactions in the gastrointestinal tract. Metabolites of 20(5)-Rg2 include 20(5)-Rhl and 20(S)-protopanaxatriol. Details of the biotransformation of 20(5)-Rg2 and chemical structures of the ginsenosides are available in the cited reference (Liu and Xiao, 1992). 

Recently, pilot bioreactors as large as 20 kl have been constructed in the research laboratories of Japan Tobacco and Salt Co. and in those of Nitto Denko Co. Solid culture methods were used in large scale pilot experiments for the production of tobacco cells, and liquid culture methods were used in the production of Panax ginseng cells. An outstanding example of cell suspension culture in a pilot scale bioreactor (750 1) was the production of shikonins by Mitui Petrochemical Industries. In all these examples, various technologies have been used to improve the productivity of the metabolites. 

---