Conversion of protopanaxadiol type saponins to ginsenoside Rg3 by lemon.
The ability of fresh lemon (Citrus limon) to convert protopanaxadiol-type saponins into ginsenoside Rg3 was investigated, and the structures of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 (1) and 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg3 (2) were identified by 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The experiment showed that lemon possesses the strong ability to hydrolyze ginsenosides. When protopanaxadiol-type saponins (16 mg/mL) were hydrolyzed by fresh lemon juice at 80 degrees C for 3 hrs, the conversion ratios of ginsenoside Rb1, Rb2, Rc and Rd were 92.9%, 90.0%, 96.90/0 and 55.5%, respectively, and the yields of 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 and 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg3 were, respectively, 31.2% and 28.3%.
Department of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Cheng-Peng
CP
Sun
Wei-Ping
WP
Gao
Bao-Zhong
BZ
Zhao
Le-Qin
LQ
Cheng
D002957:Citrus; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000737:chemistry*; D006868:Hydrolysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D012502:Sapogenins / Q000737:chemistry*
D036145:Ginsenosides; D012502:Sapogenins; C097367:ginsenoside Rg3; C062916:protopanaxadiol