Mass production of the ginsenoside Rg3(S) through the combinative use of two glycoside hydrolases

•The ginsenoside Rg3(S) was obtained as a 100 g unit with a high specificity, yield, and purity.•An enzymatic bioconversion method was developed using two glycoside hydrolases in series.•The produced Rg3(S) had the 78% chromatographic purity and the recovery ratio reached 88.3%.

The ginsenoside Rg3(S), which is one of the exceptional components of Korean red ginseng extract, has been known to have anti-cancer, anti-metastatic, and anti-obesity effects. An enzymatic bioconversion method was developed to obtain the ginsenoside Rg3(S) with a high specificity, yield, and purity. Two glycoside hydrolases (BglBX10 and Abf22-3) were employed to produce Rg3(S) as a 100 g unit. The conversion reaction transformed ginsenoside Rc to Rd using Abf22-3, followed by Rb1 and Rd to Rg3(S), using BglBX10. It was performed in a 10 L jar fermenter at pH 6.0 and 37 °C for 24 h, with a high concentration of 50 mg/ml of purified ginsenoside mixture obtained from ginseng roots. Finally, 144 g of Rg3(S) was produced from 250 g of root extract with 78 ± 1.2% chromatographic purity. These results suggest that this enzymatic method would be useful in the preparation of ginsenoside Rg3(S) for the functional food and pharmaceutical industries.