Comment · Sat, October 6, 2018 · Natrium Health & Nootropics Depot
Ginsenoside Rb2 (from Panax Ginseng) alleviates liver fat accumulation by restoring autophagy via induction of SIRT1 and activation of AMPK (2017)
What they were answering
absentnn · 2 points
Are there particular extracts of ginseng that have more Rb2? I was going to pick up some ashwagandha, but now I'm curious about other adaptogens. I've used auragin in the past, but didn't notice any effects.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Natrium Health & Nootropics Depot
Interestingly, Rb2 is highest (as a ratio) in the root hairs of panax ginseng. Many times these root hairs are shaved off the roots before extraction. I just had a big conference call with the head chemist at Alkemist over panax ginseng, and we went through a lot of the research. It's actually very complicated when you get into the details of all the various ginsenosides, and how to increase them. The age of the root plays a role in the ratios, along with the area it was cultivated in. Rb1 peaks at the 3rd year of plant growth, whereas the other increase with age. Then you also have the variable of white vs. red. The only difference in red (Korean style) is that the roots are steamed before being extracted. This changes the color. Surprisingly, it has very little effect on the main ginsenosides, based on our testing.
Our current ginseng root extract has 2.5% Rb2. That's the second highest ginsenoside in that extract apart from Rg1 at 2.8%. A new batch of red ginseng that we got in has a more balanced ratio of those ginsenosides, indicating that there were less root hairs, and the plant was likely younger. In that one, Rb1 is 1.98%, Rc is 1.67%, Rb2 is 1.36%, and Rd is 1.5%. Rg1 and Re are .32% and .82% respectively. In a new white root extract we got in, the story is similar, but the levels are higher. In the white root extract, Rg1 is .35%, Re is .99%, Rb1 is 3%, Rc is 2.54%, Rb2 is 1.78%, and Rd is 2%. So that's likely a root extract that was harvested at 3 years, was not steamed, and had reasonable amounts of root hairs left on it. Another ginsenoside that is unique to the panax ginseng species is Rf. That one seems to decrease with the age of the plant, while Rg1 increases. I have a theory that Rf is metabolizing into Rg1 as the plant ages, but I have not proven that yet.
Then throwing another wrench into the equation, panax ginseng leaf extracts seem to have high levels of Rb2 as well. Our leaf extract has 7.5% Rb2! It also has 28% Rg1 and 5.2% Re. The leaves have much higher total amounts of ginsensosides than the root. The total in our leaf extract is 43.5%. As expected, the levels of Rf are lower in this extract, which is part of why I think Rf falls as Rg1 increases.
So if you are looking for the higher total Rb2, it seems a leaf extract is what you are after. That is of course unless you can find an extract only made from the root hairs themselves. I might try to see if I can do that!