Mass production of the ginsenoside Rg3(S) through the combinative use of two glycoside hydrolases

The ginsenoside Rg3(S), which is one of the exceptional components of Korean red ginseng extract, has been known to have anti-cancer, anti-metastatic, and anti-obesity effects. An enzymatic bioconversion method was developed to obtain the ginsenoside Rg3(S) with a high specificity, yield, and purity. Two glycoside hydrolases (BglBX10 and Abf22-3) were employed to produce Rg3(S) as a 100 g unit. The conversion reaction transformed ginsenoside Rc to Rd using Abf22-3, followed by Rb1 and Rd to Rg3(S), using BglBX10. It was performed in a 10 L jar fermenter at pH 6.0 and 37 °C for 24 h, with a high concentration of 50 mg/ml of purified ginsenoside mixture obtained from ginseng roots. Finally, 144 g of Rg3(S) was produced from 250 g of root extract with 78 ± 1.2% chromatographic purity. These results suggest that this enzymatic method would be useful in the preparation of ginsenoside Rg3(S) for the functional food and pharmaceutical industries.