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Ginseng fermented by mycotoxin non-producing Aspergillus niger: ginsenoside analysis and anti-proliferative effects

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Abstract

Korean ginseng was fermented using Aspergillus niger (A. niger) FMB S494 and mycotoxins such as ochratoxin and fumonisin were not detected in the fermented ginseng. Protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides such as glycosylated forms of Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd decreased to 0 while compound K (cK) increased from 0 to 9 × 104 ppm in the extract of fermented ginseng. Protopanaxtriol-type ginsenosides such as Re and Rg1 decreased from 7.1 × 104 to 3.0 × 104 ppm and 6.8 × 104 to 4.6 × 104 ppm, respectively. Rg2 and Rh1 increased from 0 to 1.9 × 104 ppm and 0 to 2.7 × 104 ppm, respectively. We can demonstrate that A. niger was more inclined to transform protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides. Moreover, fermented ginseng extract showed a dramatically enhanced anti-proliferative effect on human HT-29 cell line with a minimum effective concentration of about 1 µg/mL, which might be attributed to the high degree of biotransformation of ginsenosides, especially the high output of ginsenoside cK.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea (Project No. PJ01123001); and the Promoting Regional specialized Industry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), Republic of Korea (Project No. R0004140).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Nutrition, Research Institute of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Zhipeng Li & Geun Eog Ji

  2. Research Institute, Bifido Co., Ltd., Hongchun, Gangwon, 25117, Korea

    Geun Eog Ji

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  1. Zhipeng Li
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Correspondence to Geun Eog Ji.

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Li, Z., Ji, G.E. Ginseng fermented by mycotoxin non-producing Aspergillus niger: ginsenoside analysis and anti-proliferative effects. Food Sci Biotechnol 26, 987–991 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-017-0117-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-017-0117-z

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