Protopanaxadiol (PPD) is an organic compound that is an

aglycone An aglycone (aglycon or genin) is the chemical compound remaining after the glycosyl group on a glycoside is replaced by a hydrogen atom. For example, the aglycone of a cardiac glycoside would be a steroid A steroid is an organic compoun ...

ginsenoside Ginsenosides or panaxosides are a class of natural product steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins. Compounds in this family are found almost exclusively in the plant genus ''Panax'' (ginseng), which has a long history of use in traditional med ...

s, a group of steroid glycosides. It is a

dammarane Dammarane is a tetracyclic triterpene found in sapogenins (forming triterpenoid saponins) like those of ginseng (ginsenosides: panaxatriol Panaxatriol is an organic compound that is an aglycone of ginsenosides, a group of steroid glycosides. I ...

-type tetracyclic

terpene Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...

sapogenin Sapogenins are aglycones (non-saccharide moieties) of saponins, a large family of natural products. Sapogenins contain steroid or other triterpene frameworks as their key organic feature. For example, steroidal sapogenins such as tiggenin, neo ...

found in

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

(''Panax ginseng'') and in notoginseng (''Panax pseudoginseng''). The health effect of protopanaxadiol inside the human body is still unclear. One study suggests it has rapid, non-genomic effects on

endothelial cell The endothelium (: endothelia) is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and th ...

s, binding to the

glucocorticoid Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every vertebra ...

and oestrogen beta receptors. The study also showed an increase in intracellular calcium ion concentration. Shanghai Innovative Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SIRC-TCM) is trying to develop an antidepressant based on this substance under the brand name ''Yoxintine''. The drug has finished phase II trials as of May 2023. Results were published in November 2024. A pharmacokinetic study done on phase IIa human volunteers reports the relationship between oral dose and blood plasma concentration, but no data is given for oral bioavailbility, half life, or volume of distribution. In rats, the oral bioavailbility is about 48% and the half-life is 6.25 hours when given as an extract containing both PPD and PPT. When given alone, reported bioavailbility values are lower, at 20.7–36.8%.

References

{{reflist Triterpenes Triols Steroids

See also

References