A New Modern Interpretation of Ginsenosides: From Biofilm Permeation Profiling to Nanocarrier Applications

Permeation properties of biofilms have been the theme and hotspot of natural medicinal chemistry research. Ginsenoside is the main active ingredient of ginseng and a membrane active compound that has been used as a drug and surfactant for a long time. The unique amphiphilic structure of ginsenoside determines that it has a hydrophobic triterpene or steroid structure and a hydrophilic glycosyl portion, thus exhibiting potent membrane-disrupting activities such as hemolytic activity, whereas the effect of the activity is dependent on the core structure of the steroid or triterpene and on the sugar chain. Therefore, we are interested in the application of ginsenosides as drug carriers. When the concentration exceeds the critical micelle concentration, ginsenosides can interact with biofilms and aggregate on the membrane to form transient pores, thereby increasing membrane permeability and fluidity. In this paper, the research progress of ginsenoside-membrane interaction and the green application of ginsenoside as a drug carrier in recent years are summarized, with a view to providing a good prospect for the development of ginsenoside for clinical application.