Ziyi Dong , Baofu Huang

1 Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
2 Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Medicinal Plant Research, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 4   doi: 10.5376/mpr.2025.15.0018
Received: 20 May, 2025    Accepted: 22 Jun., 2025    Published: 20 Jul., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Dong Z.Y., and Huang B.F., 2025, The role of gut microbiota in modulating ginseng pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, Medicinal Plant Research, 15(4): 169-177 (doi: 10.5376/mpr.2025.15.0018)

 

Ginseng (Panax spp.) is a most widely employed traditional Chinese medicine herb, valued for its multiradical pharmacological actions, including immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and anticancer activities. However, the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of ginseng are highly individualized in humans, mainly regulated by gut microbiota. Increasingly, evidence shows that gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the metabolism and biotransformation of ginseng constituents, particularly ginsenosides, through their transformation into bioactive metabolites such as Compound K, thereby enhancing absorption and bioavailability. Gut microbiota is also involved in regulating the pharmacological effects of ginseng, including immune function regulation, oxidative stress modulation, gut–brain axis communication, and anticancer activities. Emerging advances in multi-omics and systems biology approaches, such as metabolomics, metagenomics, and network pharmacology, have cumulatively improved our understanding of the microbe–ginseng interaction network. Differences in composition of gut microbiota among individuals are responsible for significant differences in ginseng efficacy, and population stratification, precision medicine, and microbiota-guided intervention could all become choices to improve clinical effects. Besides, integrating ginseng therapy with probiotics, prebiotics, and microbiota modulators is promising to enhance therapeutic effects and ensure safety. This review comprehensively summarizes the regulatory function of gut microbiota in ginseng PK and PD, demonstrating its importance in personalized herbal medicine and translational uses in the future.

Panax spp.; Gut microbiota; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacodynamics; Personalized medicine