Isolation and characterization of immunostimulatory polysaccharide from an herb tea, Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino.

Water-soluble polysaccharide from Gynostemma pentaphyllum herb tea (PSGP) was isolated by hot-water extraction and ethanol precipitation. The chemical components and preliminary immunomodulating activity of PSGP were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Capillary zone electrophoresis analysis showed that PSGP was a typical nonstarch heteropolysaccharide, with glucose being the main component monosaccharide (23.2%), followed by galactose (18.9%), arabinose (10.5%), rhamnose (7.7%), galacturonic acid (4.7%), xylose (3.9%), mannose (3.1%), and glucuronic acid (1.2%). PSGP could significantly stimulate peritoneal macrophages to release nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in a dose-dependent manner. This immunostimulating activity of PSGP was further demonstrated by its inhibition on the proliferation of human colon carcinoma HT-29 and SW-116 cells incubated with the supernatant of PSGP-stimulated macrophage culture. It is evident that PSGP is a very important ingredient responsible for at least in part the immunomodulating activity of G. pentaphyllum herb tea.