Ginsenoside F1 has been described to possess skin whitening effects on human. We aimed to synthesize a new ginsenoside derivative from F1 and investigate its cytotoxicity and melanogenesis inhibitory activity in B16BL6 cells using recombinant glycosyltransferase enzyme. Glycosylation has the advantage of synthesizing rare chemical compounds from common compounds with great ease.

Ginseng contains many small metabolites such as amino acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates as well as ginsenosides. However, little is known about the relationships between microorganisms and metabolites during the entire ginseng fermentation process. We investigate metabolic changes during ginseng fermentation according to the inoculation of food-compatible microorganisms.