Production of bioactive ginsenoside compound K in metabolically engineered yeast

摘要

Ginseng has been traditionally used as herbal medicine in Asia for thousands of years to enhance physical performance and to increase resistance to stress and aging, and has been developed into various kinds of dietary supplement with increasing market demand1. Its active constituents are ginsenosides, a group of triterpene saponins (ca. 2% in Panax ginseng dried roots)1. However, the main functional component detected in mammalian blood or organs after oral administration of ginseng or ginsenosides is compound K (CK)2, which presents bioactivities of anti-inflammation, hepatoprotection, anti-diabetes and anti-cancer in experiments of in vitro cell biology and/or in vivo animal models (Supplementary information, Table S1). Recently, CK was approved by the China Food and Drug Administration to commence clinical trials (CDEL20130379) for arthritis prevention and treatment.