Protopanaxadiol (PPD) is an organic compound characterizing a group of ginsenosides. It is a

dammarane Dammarane is a tetracyclic triterpene found in sapogenins (forming triterpenoid saponins) like those of ginseng ( ginsenosides: panaxatriol and protopanaxadiol). Compounds of the series were first isolated from and named after dammar resin D ...

-type tetracyclic

terpene Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes ar ...

sapogenin found in

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus '' Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides ...

(''Panax ginseng'') and in notoginseng (''Panax pseudoginseng''). Just what protopanaxadiol's metabolites do inside the human body is still unclear. One study suggests it has rapid, non-genomic effects on

endothelial cell The endothelium 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 the rest of the ves ...

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 verte ...

and oestrogen beta receptors. The study also showed an increase of intracellular calcium ion concentration.

References

Triterpenes Triols Steroids {{alcohol-stub

See also

References