Enzymatic Biotransformation of Ginsenoside Rb2 into Rd by Recombinant α-L-Arabinopyranosidase from Blastococcus saxobsidens

In this study, we used a novel α-L-arabinopyranosidase (AbpBs) obtained from ginsenosideconverting Blastococcus saxobsidens that was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and then applied it in the biotransformation of ginsenoside Rb 2 into Rd. The gene, termed AbpBs , consisting of 2,406 nucleotides (801 amino acid residues), and with a predicted translated protein molecular mass of 86.4 kDa, was cloned into a pGEX4T-1 vector. A BLAST search using the AbpBs amino acid sequence revealed significant homology with a family 2 glycoside hydrolase (GH2). The over-expressed recombinant AbpBs in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) catalyzed the hydrolysis of the arabinopyranose moiety attached to the C-20 position of ginsenoside Rb 2 under optimal conditions (pH 7.0 and 40°C). Kinetic parameters for α-Larabinopyranosidase showed apparent K m and V max values of 0.078 ± 0.0002 μM and 1.4 ± 0.1 μmol/min/mg of protein against p -nitrophenyl-α-L-arabinopyranoside. Using a purified AbpBs (1 μg/ml), 0.1% of ginsenoside Rb 2 was completely converted to ginsenoside Rd within 1 h. The recombinant AbpBs could be useful for high-yield, rapid, and low-cost preparation of ginsenoside Rd from Rb 2 .