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.