Enzymatic Transformation from Protopanaxadiol Ginsenoside Rb1 into Rare Ginsenoside C-K and its Anti-Cancer Activity

Abstract

Rare ginsenoside C-K was prepared using enzymatic transformation with snailase from main ginsenoside Rb1 at the following conditions: material ratio 62.14:10, pH 4.0, incubation at 46.40 °C for 15 h. After chromatography by silica gel column and crystal formation, C-K with more than 95% purity was obtained from the production of enzymatic transformation. The yield of C-K reached 63.02% after optimization, representing an about 9% increase than before. In addition, C-K we prepared exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human lung adenocarcinoma cancer cell A549 and human hepatoma cell HepG-2.