Gypensapogenin H from hydrolyzate of total Gynostemma pentaphyllum saponins induces apoptosis in human breast carcinoma cells.

Gypensapogenin H (Gyp H) is a novel dammarane-type triterpene, isolated from hydrolyzate of total saponins from Gynostemma pentaphyllum. Our previous work demonstrated that Gyp H exhibited potent growth inhibitory effects on tumor cells. It significantly inhibited the growth of human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231), while having low toxicity to normal human breast epithelial cells, MCF-10a. Further mechanistic study demonstrated that Gyp H decreased survival, inhibited proliferation, migration, induced apoptosis and led to cell cycle arrest. For the MDA-MB-231 cell lines, Gyp H increased expression of P21, Bax and cytochrome c, induced PARP cleavage and activated caspases. Gyp H also reduced expression of CDK2/4, CyclinD1, E2F1 and Bcl2, which associated with the cell cycle arrest. Thus, our finding may be useful for understanding the mechanism of action of Gyp H on breast cancer cells and suggest that Gyp H would be a leading agent for the treatment of breast cancer.