Ginsenosidases catalyse the hydrolysis of glycosyl moieties attached to the C-3, C-6 or C-20 position of ginsenosides. They are specific with respect to the nature of the glycosidic linkage, the position and the order in which the linkages are cleaved. Ginsenoside Rb1 beta-glucosidase specifically and sequentially hydrolyses the 20-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1->6)-beta-D glucopyranosyloxy] residues attached to position 20 by first hydrolysing the (1->6)-glucosidic bond to generate ginsenoside Rd as an intermediate, followed by hydrolysis of the remaining 20-O-beta-D-glucosidic bond.
