Genipin

Genipin is an active aglycone derived from an iridoid glycoside called geniposide, which is found in the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis. Genipin is a hydrolytic product of geniposide. Genipin has been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Genipin is used in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Genipin is an excellent natural cross-linker for proteins, collagen, gelatin, and chitosan cross-linking. Genipin has a low acute toxicity, with LD50 i.v. 382 mg/kg in mice. Therefore, much less toxic than glutaraldehyde and many other commonly used synthetic cross-linking regents. Genipin is also used for pharmaceutical purposes, such as choleretic action for liver diseases control. Furthermore，genipin can be used as a cross-linking agent for immobilized enzyme, the regulating agent for drug delivery, the raw materials for gardenia blue pigment preparation,as well as the intermediate for alkaloid synthetic etc. Genipin is a naturally occurring material that shows great potential as a use in biomaterials and also as a fingerprint reagent.