Ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rb3 and Rc, four major protopanaxadiol (PPD)-type ginsenosides, can be metabolized by gut microbiota. The composition of gut microbiota varies in different species. Existing publications have reported the metabolite fates of ginsenosides by gut microbiota from single species. However, their microbiota-related metabolic species differences have not been evaluated yet. In current study, in vitro anaerobic incubations of PPD-type ginsenosides with gut microbiota from humans, rabbits and rats were conducted. The metabolites of each ginsenoside were then identified by LC–MS. A total of 15 metabolites from the four ginsenosides were identified. The major metabolic pathways were stepwise removals of the C-20 and C-3 sugar moieties to obtain aglycone PPD. The results showed that the hydrolysis rate of C-20 terminal β-D-glucopyranosyl was significantly higher than those of α-L-arabinopyranosyl, β-D-xylopyranosyl and α-L-arabinofuranosyl in different species. The activity of β-glucosidase, the metabolic rates of parent compounds and the formation rates of their metabolites were significantly higher in gut microbiota from rabbits than from humans and rats. Our research draws researchers’ attention to the species differences of microbiota-related drug metabolism.

中文翻译：

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不同物种肠道菌群对20(S)-原人参二醇型人参皂苷代谢的定性定量研究

人参皂甙 Rb1、Rb2、Rb3 和 Rc 是四种主要的原人参二醇 (PPD) 型人参皂甙，可被肠道微生物群代谢。肠道微生物群的组成因物种而异。现有的出版物已经报道了来自单一物种的肠道微生物群对人参皂苷代谢物的命运。然而，尚未评估它们与微生物群相关的代谢物种差异。在目前的研究中，PPD 型人参皂苷与来自人类、兔和大鼠的肠道微生物群进行了体外厌氧培养。然后通过 LC-MS 鉴定每种人参皂苷的代谢物。共鉴定了四种人参皂苷的 15 种代谢物。主要的代谢途径是逐步去除 C-20 和 C-3 糖部分以获得苷元 PPD。结果表明，C-20末端的水解率不同物种中β -D-吡喃葡萄糖基显着高于α -L-阿拉伯吡喃糖基、β -D-吡喃木糖基和α -L-阿拉伯呋喃糖基。兔肠道菌群中β-葡萄糖苷酶的活性、母体化合物的代谢率及其代谢物的形成率显着高于人和大鼠。我们的研究引起了研究人员对微生物群相关药物代谢的物种差异的关注。