Genipin

Genipin is a chemical compound found in gardenia fruit extract. It is an aglycone derived from an iridoid glycoside called geniposide present in fruit of Gardenia jasminoides.

Genipin is an excellent natural cross-linker for proteins, collagen, gelatin, and chitosan cross-linking. It 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 reagents. Furthermore, genipin can be used as a regulating agent for drug delivery, as the raw material for gardenia blue pigment preparation, and as the intermediate for alkaloid syntheses.

In vitro experiments have shown that genipin blocks the action of the enzyme uncoupling protein 2.