Enzymatic preparation of ginsenosides Rg2, Rh1, and F1 from protopanaxatriol-type ginseng saponin mixture

During investigations on the hydrolysis of a protopanaxatriol-type saponin mixture by various glycoside hydrolases, it was found that two minor saponins, ginsenosides Rg 2 and Rh 1, were formed in high yields by crude beta-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae and crude lactase from Penicillium sp., respectively. Moreover, a crude preparation of naringinase from Penicillium decumbens readily hydrolyzed a protopanaxatriol-type saponin mixture to give an intestinal bacterial metabolite, ginsenoside F 1 as the main product. A crude preparation of hesperidinase from Penicillium sp. selectively hydrolyzed ginsenoside Re into ginsenoside Rg 1. This is the first report on the enzymatic preparation of minor saponins, ginsenosides Rg 2 and Rh 1, and of an intestinal bacterial metabolite, ginsenoside F 1, with a high efficiency from a protopanaxatriol-type saponin mixture.