2004 Volume 95 Issue 2 Pages 153-157
Orally ingested ginsenoside passes through the stomach and small intestine without decomposition by either gastric juice or liver enzymes into the large intestine, where ginsenoside is deglycosylated by colonic bacteria followed by transit to the circulation. Colonic bacteria cleave the oligosaccharide connected to the aglycone stepwise from the terminal sugar to afford the major metabolites, 20S-protopanaxadiol 20-O-β-