Enzymatic bioconversion of ginseng powder increases the content of minor ginsenosides and potentiates immunostimulatory activity

Jisang Park; Ju Kim; Eun-Sil Ko; Jong Hoon Jeong; Cheol-Oh Park; Jeong Hun Seo; Yong-Suk Jang

doi:10.1016/j.jgr.2021.12.005

Enzymatic bioconversion of ginseng powder increases the content of minor ginsenosides and potentiates immunostimulatory activity

J Ginseng Res. 2022 Mar;46(2):304-314. doi: 10.1016/j.jgr.2021.12.005. Epub 2021 Dec 17.

Authors

Jisang Park^{1

2}, Ju Kim², Eun-Sil Ko³, Jong Hoon Jeong³, Cheol-Oh Park³, Jeong Hun Seo³, Yong-Suk Jang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Innovative Research and Education Center for Integrated Bioactive Materials and the Department of Bioactive Material Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Molecular Biology and the Institute for Molecular Biology and Genetics, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
³ R&D Center, General Bio Co., Ltd., Namwon, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background: Ginsenosides are biologically active components of ginseng and have various functions. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory activity of a ginseng product generated from ginseng powder (GP) via enzymatic bioconversion. This product, General Bio compound K-10 mg solution (GBCK10S), exhibited increased levels of minor ginsenosides, including ginsenoside-F1, compound K, and compound Y.

Methods: The immunomodulatory properties of GBCK10S were confirmed using mice and a human natural killer (NK) cell line. We monitored the expression of molecules involved in immune responses via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, flow cytometry, NK cell-targeted cell destruction, quantitative reverse-transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analyses.

Results: Oral administration of GBCK10S significantly increased serum immunoglobulin M levels and primed splenocytes to express pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ. Oral administration of GBCK10S also activated NK cells in mice. Furthermore, GBCK10S treatment stimulated a human NK cell line in vitro, thereby increasing granzyme B gene expression and activating STAT5.

Conclusion: GBCK10S may have potent immunostimulatory properties and can activate immune responses mediated by B cells, Th1-type T cells, and NK cells.

Keywords: APC, allophycocyanin; Ab, antibody; Bioconversion; CK, compound K; CO, compound O; CY, compound Y; Con A, concanavalin A; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FBS, fetal bovine serum; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; GBCK10S, General Bio compound-K 10 mg solution; GP, ginseng powder; GZMB, granzyme B; Ginseng; Ginsenoside; HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; Ig, immunoglobulin; Lymphocyte; NK cells; NK, natural killer; OD, optical density; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; PE, phycoerythrin; RT-PCR, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction; SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error; STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; Th, helper T.