Gynostemma pentaphyllum

Lore & Background

The plant was first described in 1406 CE by Zhu Xiao, who presented a description and sketch in the book Materia Medica for Famine as a famine food rather than a herb. The earliest record of jiaogulan's use comes from herbalist Li Shizhen's book Compendium of Materia Medica published in 1578, identifying jiaogulan supposedly for treating various ailments, though Li Shizhen had confused jiaogulan with an analogous herb, wulianmei. In 1848 Wu Qi-Jun rectified this confusion in Textual Investigation of Herbal Plants.

Reader's Guide

Gynostemma pentaphyllum holds significance as a plant used in folk medicine, typically as a herbal tea, but also as an alcohol extract or in dietary supplements. It has not seen widespread use in traditional Chinese medicine, being adopted only in the past 20 years, and grows mainly in Guizhou province. Its leaves contain dammarane-type saponins, some identical to ginsenosides found in ginseng, and others named gypenosides, with some sweet-tasting (one 200 times as sweet as sucrose) and some bitter. Limited research has assessed potential effects on cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, or type 2 diabetes, but these studies were too preliminary to allow any conclusion of benefit. In the European Union, jiaogulan is considered a novel food following a 2012 court ruling that prohibited its sale as food. No clinical trials provide high-quality evidence about its efficacy and safety, and no information exists about human toxicity.

Did You Know?

• The plant was first described in 1406 CE by Zhu Xiao as a famine food, not a herb.
• Some gypenosides in jiaogulan are 200 times as sweet as sucrose.
• Jiaogulan is dioecious, meaning individual plants are either male or female.
• In the European Union, jiaogulan is considered a novel food and its sale as food was prohibited by a 2012 court ruling.