Recent Studies on the Pharmacological Activities and Structural Modifications of Compound-K

Ginsenosides, the essential active ingredients extracted from ginseng, have been well studied in the past several decades because of their numerous pharmacological properties including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic activities, as well as hepatoprotection, skin protection, and memory improvement, etc. Compound-K (CK) is the major metabolite derived from the deglycosylation of ginsenosides by intestinal bacteria and has been proved to be the actual active entity absorbed into the systemic circulation. In this review, we comprehensively elucidate the pharmacological activities of CK from the molecular mechanism, as well as its structurally modified derivatives. We hope this review would be helpful to get a systematic summary and provide constructive insights for the further research of CK.