The comparisons of bacterial communities between prior to and after ginseng intake in both groups were analyzed by PCoA plot (Fig. 6). Prior to ginseng intake, bacterial communities were segregated depending on weight loss effect, but there was no remarkable change of bacterial communities in both groups after ginseng intake. This indicates that the influence of ginseng intakes on bacterial community was not considerable, however the compositions of gut bacteria could determine whether weight loss is effective or not. Ginseng exerted a weight loss effect and slight effects on gut microbiota in all participants. It is an important result that its antiobesity

effects differed depending on the composition of gut microbiota prior to ginseng intake. The biotransformation activity from ginsenoside-Rb1 to buy CAL-101 compound K was significantly different among individuals [36], and intestinal bacterial metabolism of ginseng is dependent NSC 683864 on the composition of gut microbiota [19] and [20]. Therefore, a single ginsenoside or a ginseng extract may lead to different effects among participants [33]. However, we did not analyze the biotransformation activity ginsenoside to compound K, for example, so supplemental studies are necessary to confirm the metabolism of ginseng by gut microbiota for antiobesity. There were other limitations in this study including: no controlled study, a limited number

of participants, and a limited study period. Therefore, the present study can be considered explorative research, which can motivate a full-scaled one. However, it was the first trial to assess the effects of ginseng on obesity and gut microbiota as well different weight loss effects depending on the composition of gut microbiota.

All contributing authors Tyrosine-protein kinase BLK declare no conflicts of interest. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (No. 2006-2005173). “
“Saponins are key constituents of Panax ginseng Meyer to exhibit various pharmacological activities [1]. To date, approximately 80 kinds of saponin have been isolated from P. ginseng. Most have two kinds of dammarane-type triterpenoid moieties as aglycones: protopanaxdiol (diol, PPD) and protopanaxtriol (triol, PPT). Only ginsenoside Ro analogs have oleanolic acid as an aglycone [2]. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is the most common method for identifying ginsenosides, but many variations and inaccuracies can be found in the published NMR data. We previously described the several physicochemical and spectroscopic characteristics of four major diol-ginsenosides, Rb1, Rb2, Rc, and Rd, and the ginsenoside Rg1, all of which were measured using standard methods. We also identified their signals using two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic methods [3] and [4].