Synthesis and antitumor activity of three novel ginsenoside M1 derivatives with 3'-ester modifications

Bioconversion, Pharmacokinetics, and Therapeutic Mechanisms of Ginsenoside Compound K and Its Analogues for Treating Metabolic Diseases

Rare ginsenoside compound K (CK) is an intestinal microbial metabolite with a low natural abundance that is primarily produced by physicochemical processing, side chain modification, or metabolic transformation in the gut. Moreover, CK exhibits potent biological activity compared to primary ginsenosides, which has raised concerns in the field of ginseng research and development, as well as ginsenoside-related dietary supplements and natural products. Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, and Rc are generally used as a substrate to generate CK via several bioconversion processes. Current research shows that CK has a wide range of pharmacological actions, including boosting osteogenesis, lipid and glucose metabolism, lipid oxidation, insulin resistance, and anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis properties. Further research on the bioavailability and toxicology of CK can advance its medicinal application. The purpose of this review is to lay the groundwork for future clinical studies and the development of CK as a therapy for metabolic disorders. Furthermore, the toxicology and pharmacology of CK are investigated as well in this review. The findings indicate that CK primarily modulates signaling pathways associated with AMPK, SIRT1, PPARs, WNTs, and NF-kB. It also demonstrates a positive therapeutic effect of CK on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and its complications, as well as osteoporosis. Additionally, the analogues of CK showed more bioavailability, less toxicity, and more efficacy against disease states. Enhancing bioavailability and regulating hazardous variables are crucial for its use in clinical trials.

Insight on structural modification, biological activity, structure-activity relationship of PPD-type ginsenoside derivatives

Ginsenosides, characterized by triterpenoid, are one of the active components of ginseng. Among them, PPD-type ginsenosides have potent and diverse pharmacological activities, while the effective applications and clinical studies are limited by the poor stability, water solubility and oral bioavailability. In this review, we have attempted to demonstrate the structural-activity relationship of chemical modifications on the dammarane-type skeleton and the C-17 side chain, noting that certain structurally modified derivatives exhibit satisfactory pharmacological activity. This review will provide ideas for the design and synthesis of novel PPD derivatives, and valuable help for the further study of PPD derivatives to make it realize clinical application.

Paving the Road Toward Exploiting the Therapeutic Effects of Ginsenosides: An Emphasis on Autophagy and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Programmed cell death processes such as apoptosis and autophagy strongly contribute to the onset and progression of cancer. Along with these lines, modulation of cell death mechanisms to combat cancer cells and elimination of resistance to apoptosis is of great interest. It appears that modulation of autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress with specific agents would be beneficial in the treatment of several disorders. Interestingly, it has been suggested that herbal natural products may be suitable candidates for the modulation of these processes due to few side effects and significant therapeutic potential. Ginsenosides are derivatives of ginseng and exert modulatory effects on the molecular mechanisms associated with autophagy and ER stress. Ginsenosides act as smart phytochemicals that confer their effects by up-regulating ATG proteins and converting LC3-I to -II, which results in maturation of autophagosomes. Not only do ginsenosides promote autophagy but they also possess protective and therapeutic properties due to their capacity to modulate ER stress and up- and down-regulate and/or dephosphorylate UPR transducers such as IRE1, PERK, and ATF6. Thus, it would appear that ginsenosides are promising agents to potentially restore tissue malfunction and possibly eliminate cancer.

Anticancer Activities of Ginsenosides, the Main Active Components of Ginseng

Cancer incidence rate has been increasing drastically in recent years. One of the many cancer treatment methods is chemotherapy. Traditional medicine, in the form of complementary and alternative therapy, is actively used to treat cancer, and many herbs and active ingredients of such therapies are being intensely studied to integrate them into modern medicine. Ginseng is traditionally used as a nourishing tonic and for treating various diseases in Asian countries. The therapeutic potential of ginseng in modern medicine has been studied extensively; the main bioactive component of ginseng is ginsenosides, which have gathered attention, particularly for their prospects in the treatment of fatal diseases such as cancer. Ginsenosides displayed their anticancer and antimetastatic properties not only via restricting cancer cell proliferation, viability, invasion, and migration but also by promoting apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and autophagy in several cancers, such as breast, brain, liver, gastric, and lung cancer. Additionally, ginsenosides can work synergistically with already existing cancer therapies. Thus, ginsenosides may be used alone or in combination with other pharmaceutical agents in new therapeutic strategies for cancer. To date however, there is little systematic summary available for the anticancer effects and therapeutic potential of ginsenosides. Therefore, we have reviewed and discussed all available literature in order to facilitate further research of ginsenosides in this manuscript.

Ginsenoside Compound K: Insights into Recent Studies on Pharmacokinetics and Health-Promoting Activities

Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is an herb popular for its medicinal and health properties. Compound K (CK) is a secondary ginsenoside biotransformed from major ginsenosides. Compound K is more bioavailable and soluble than its parent ginsenosides and hence of immense importance. The review summarizes health-promoting in vitro and in vivo studies of CK between 2015 and 2020, including hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, neuroprotective, anti-aging/skin protective, and others. Clinical trial data are minimal and are primarily based on CK-rich fermented ginseng. Besides, numerous preclinical and clinical studies indicating the pharmacokinetic behavior of CK, its parent compound (Rb1), and processed ginseng extracts are also summarized. With the limited evidence available from animal and clinical studies, it can be stated that CK is safe and well-tolerated. However, lower water solubility, membrane permeability, and efflux significantly diminish the efficacy of CK and restrict its clinical application. We found that the use of nanocarriers and cyclodextrin for CK delivery could overcome these limitations as well as improve the health benefits associated with them. However, these derivatives have not been clinically evaluated, thus requiring a safety assessment for human therapy application. Future studies should be aimed at investigating clinical evidence of CK.

Design, synthesis and anti-inflammatory activity of 3-amino acid derivatives of ocotillol-type sapogenins

Ocotillol-type sapogenins (OTS) are major ginsenoside metabolites in human hepatic tissue. In order to better utilize OTS and derivatives thereof as anti-inflammatory compounds, present study produced multiple novel 3-amino acid OTS derivatives and evaluated their anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. The nitric oxide (NO) inhibitory activity of these compounds was used for OTS structure-activity relationship (SAR) evaluations, revealing that both R/S stereochemistry at C-24 and the amino acid type at C-3 influence such NO inhibitory activity. This activity was highest for an N-Boc-protected neutral aliphatic amino acid derivative of 24R-OTS (5a), which performed better than even hydrocortisone sodium succinate in vitro. Compound 5a was also able to markedly suppress the LPS-induced upregulation of TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, and COX-2 via the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. This suggests that OTS derivatives may be valuable anti-inflammatory compounds worthy of further preclinical evaluation.