Abstract

THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF GINSENOSIDES: A MINI-REVIEW

Enos Mais, Raphael N. Alolga and Lian-Wen Qi*

Abstract

Ginsenosides, the bioactive constituents from the various Panax species are saponins. Saponins are a group of chemically diverse nonvolatile natural compounds (secondary metabolites) that are mainly produced by plants and certain marine organisms such as starfish and Sea cucumbers. This mini-review gives a brief account of the general biosynthetic pathways shared by all saponins and then focuses on ginsenosides in particular. A knowledge of the biosynthetic pathway of ginsenosides could be very helpful in the cultivation of genuine ginseng breeds with the sole aim of obtaining the most bioactive compounds.

Keywords: Ginsenosides, Panax, Saponins, biosynthetic pathways.