Studies on the absorption, distribution, excretion and metabolism of ginseng saponins. III. The absorption, distribution and excretion of ginsenoside Rb1 in the rat.

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Abstract
The pharmacokinetic character of ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), one of the main 20(S)-protopanaxadiol group saponins of ginseng (Panax ginseng) was investigated in rats. Quantitative analysis of Rb1 in biological samples was investigated and the most suitable assay procedure for each biological sample was established. Little Rb1 was absorbed from the digestive tract after oral administration (100 mg/kg) to rats. The serum level of Rb1 in rats after i.v. injection (5 mg/kg) declined biexponentially, and the half-life of the .beta.-phase was 14.5 h. The long persistence of Rb1 in serum and tissues in rats after i.v. administration was assumed to correlate with the high activity of plasma protein binding. Rb1 was gradually excreted into urine, but not bile. Unabsorbed Rb1 in the digestive tract was rapidly decomposed and/or metabolized mainly in the large intestine. These results are quite different from results on ginsenoside Rg1 in rats.

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