Preparative chromatography of flavonoids and saponins in Gynostemma pentaphyllum and their antiproliferation effect on hepatoma cell

A preparative column chromatographic method was developed to isolate flavonoids and saponins from Gynostemma pentaphyllum, a Chinese Medicinal herb, and evaluate their antiproliferation effect on hepatoma cell Hep3B, with the standards rutin and ginsenoside Rb3 being used for comparison. Initially the powdered G. pentaphyllum was extracted with ethanol, followed by eluting flavonoids and saponins with ethanol–water (30:70, v/v) and 100% ethanol, respectively, in an open-column containing 5 g of Cosmosil 75C18-OPN, and then subjected to HPLC–MS analysis. The flavonoid fraction was mainly composed of quercetin- and kaempferol-glycosides, while in saponin fraction, both ginsenoside Rb3 and ginsenoside Rd dominated. Both fractions were more effective against Hep3B cells than the standards rutin and ginsenoside Rb3, with the cell cycle being arrested at G0/G1 phase for all the treatments. Additionally, the inhibition effect followed a dose-dependent increase for all the sample treatments. The result of this study may be used as a basis for possible phytopreparations in the future with G. pentaphyllum as raw material.