Compound K, a final intestinal metabolite of ginsenosides, enhances insulin secretion in MIN6 pancreatic β-cells by upregulation of GLUT2.

Compound K (CK) is a final intestinal metabolite of protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides from Panax ginseng and shows various bioactivities. Although it has also been found to have the property of anti-diabetes, the long-term effect of CK on insulin secretion in β-cells is still unclear. In this study, CK was prepared from ginsenoside Rd by snailase hydrolysis and its effect on the insulin secretion activity in MIN6 pancreatic β-cell lines in vitro was assessed. The expression of glucose transporter isoform-2 (GLUT2) and the cellular ATP content were also examined by western blot and HPLC analysis, respectively. The results showed that CK significantly enhanced insulin secretion, increased cellular ATP content, and upregulated the expression of GLUT2. These findings indicate that CK exerts prominent stimulatory effects on insulin secretion in the MIN6 cells partly via upregulating the expression of GLUT2.