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Two acidic polysaccharides (GP-B1 and GP-C1) were obtained from Gynostemma pentaphyllum. The molecular weights (Mw) of the two fractions were 79 kDa for GP-B1 and 126 kDa for GP-C1. GP-B1 was composed of Gal, Ara, Man, Rha, Xyl, Glc, GalA and GlcA in a molar ration of 3.5:3.2:0.6:0.9:0.3:0.5:0.6:0.4. GP-C1 consisted of Gal, Ara, Man, Rha, Glc, and GlcA in the proportions of 2.1:1.0:0.3:0.5:0.4:0.9. Among them, GP-B1 treatment had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of melanoma B16 in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile GP-B1 could increase the relative spleen weight and stimulate the splenocyte proliferation alone or combined with ConA. Moreover, GP-B1 treatment induced an evident increase in the level of serum TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-12 and a reduction for IL-10 production. These results indicate that the antitumor effects of GP-B1 are associated with immunostimulation.

In current study, a water-soluble polysaccharide (GP-I), with a molecular mass of 33 kDa, was purified from Gynostemma pentaphyllum. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis suggested that it was composed of Glc, Gal, Man, Rha and Ara with a ratio of 5.3: 4.2: 3.0: 0.7: 0.8. The GP-I (25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 μg/ml) was found to have significant anti-proliferative effects on HaCat cells in a dose-dependent manner, as measured by MTT assay. On the contrary, Trypan blue exclusion experiment indicated that GP-I had no cytotoxicity to HaCat cells. Moreover, the decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in GP-I treated cells was also observed, indicating apoptosis in HaCat cells. Besides, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a vital pro-inflammatory cytokine in psoriasis, in the supernatant of HaCat cells was dramatically reduced by GP-I. Collectively, these findings suggested that GP-I was a promising agent to be developed for psoriasis treatment in clinical therapy.