[hy Fermented Red Ginseng] Research Paper _ Effects of gut microbiota on the pharmacokinetics of protopanaxadiol ginsenosides Rd, Rg3, F2, and compound K in healthy volunteers treated orally with red ginseng 2021-07-28 최고관리자 0 2725 2021.07.28 15:43 AbstractBackground: It is well recognized that gut microbiota is involved in the biotransformation of ginsenosidesby converting the polar ginsenosides to nonpolar bioactive ginsenosides. However, the roles of thegut microbiota on the pharmacokinetics of ginsenosides in humans have not yet been fully elucidated.Methods: Red ginseng (RG) or fermented red ginseng was orally administered to 34 healthy Koreanvolunteers, and the serum concentrations of the ginsenosides were determined using liquidchromatographyetandem mass spectrometry. In addition, the fecal ginsenoside Rde and compound K(CK)eforming activities were measured. Then, the correlations between the pharmacokinetic profiles ofthe ginsenosides and the fecal ginsenosideemetabolizing activities were investigated.Results: For the RG group, the area under the serum concentrationetime curve values of ginsenosides Rd,F2, Rg3, and CK were 8.20 11.95 ng$h/mL, 4.54 3.70 ng$h/mL, 36.40 19.68 ng$h/mL, and40.30 29.83 ng$h/mL, respectively. For the fermented red ginseng group, the the area under curve fromzero to infinity (AUCN) values of ginsenosides Rd, F2, Rg3, and CK were 187.90 95.87 ng$h/mL,30.24 41.87 ng$h/mL, 28.68 14.27 ng$h/mL, and 137.01 96.16 ng$h/mL, respectively. The fecal CKformingactivities of the healthy volunteers were generally proportional to their ginsenoside Rdeformingactivities. The area under the serum concentrationetime curve value of CK exhibited an obvious positivecorrelation (r ¼ 0.566, p < 0.01) with the fecal CK-forming activity.Conclusion: The gut microbiota may play an important role in the bioavailability of the nonpolar RGginsenosides by affecting the biotransformation of the ginsenosides.