Immobilized β-glucosidase on Cu(PTA) for the green production of rare ginsenosides CK

The rare ginsenoside Compound K(CK) is paid more attention due to its good physiological activity and urgently required. The conversion of ginsenoside Rb1 to rare ginsenoside CK via β-glucosidase (β-Glu) is an efficient method for industrial production. However, free β-Glu was poor stability resulting in the inability to achieve recovery and circulation. Immobilization of the enzyme can address this limitation and facilitate the application of β-Glu in industrial production. In this study, stable Cu(PTA) carrier was constructed via the “one-pot” method and immobilized β-Glu to obtain β-glucosidas@Cu(PTA) (β-Glu@Cu(PTA)) biocomposite. The enzyme embedding amount of reached 171.23 mg/g and β-Glu@Cu(PTA) biocomposite shows excellent stability in extreme environments (thermal, pH, and organic solvents). In addition, the conversion of β-Glu@Cu(PTA) biocomposite to ginsenoside Rb1 reached 49.15%. Notably, the β-Glu@Cu(PTA) biocomposite retained 55% of initial enzyme activity after eight cycles. This study provides a simple, efficient and green method for the industrial manufacture of the rare ginsenoside CK.