A novel peptide isolated from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre--I. Characterization and its suppressive effect on the neural responses to sweet taste stimuli in the rat.

1. A new substance that suppressed selectively the neural responses of the rat to sweet taste stimuli was isolated from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre. 2. The substance was proved to be a peptide consisting of 35 amino acids and having a molecular weight of about 4,000. 3. The inhibitory effect on the sweet responses appeared after treating the tongue surface with the peptide at a concentration of more than 1 x 10(-6) M.