Enzymatic formation of compound-K from ginsenoside Rb1 by enzyme preparation from cultured mycelia of Armillaria mellea.

Background Minor saponins or human intestinal bacterial metabolites, such as ginsenosides Rg3, F2, Rh2, and compound K, are more pharmacologically active than major saponins, such as ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, and Rc. In this work, enzymatic hydrolysis of ginsenoside Rb1 was studied using enzyme preparations from cultured mycelia of mushrooms.