Comparison of Various Preparations of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Jiaogulan) and its Main Active Constituents, Gypenoside Saponins, on Resting Metabolic Rate: Controlled Human Clinical Study

Abstract

We have compared efficacies of 3 different Gynostemma pentapyllum (jiaogulan) samples on resting metabolic rate (RMR) by hand‐held indirect calorimeter in healthy human adults (n=10). The samples were jiaogulan leaf extract (A), jiaogulan blend composed of extracted and freeze‐dried whole Gynostemma plant (B), and JULE of the OrientTM (JULE), an herbal blend consisting of B plus goji, astragalus, codonopsis, jujube, longan, luohanguo, rhodiola, schisandra, açai, amalaki, aronia, camu‐camu, elderberry, ginger, Japanese sophora, blueberry, bilberry, lychee, cranberry, cherry and reishi mushroom. Total saponins were adjusted at the same level in all samples. Each sample (60 ml) was separately consumed immediately before a nutritional beverage (360 kcal) after 12 h fast. B increased RMR by 178 kcal over baseline level (1,703 kcal) at 2 h post‐intake. JULE intake further increased RMR by 231 kcal significantly (P<0.05), about 14% of baseline level. A increased RMR by 134 kcal over baseline, which was same level with control (139 kcal), and was significantly lower than the effect of B or JULE. These results suggest that constituents other than saponins in jiaogulan may have stimulating effects on metabolism, that whole plant jiaogulan may have greater efficacies than leaf alone, and that the synergistic effect of various herbs in the JULE causes significant increase in the effect of jiaogulan on human metabolism.