Gelsevirine has anxiolytic activity, may be via the agonist action of glycine receptor in the brain. Gelsevirine can significantly inhibit the proliferation of human carcinoma cell line SW480 and MGC80-3 in a dose-dependent manner, the 50% inhibiting concentration(IC50)of gelsevirine on SW480 cells and MGC80-3 cells are 1.41±0.06 mM and 1.22±0.11 mM respectively.

N-[(7S)-1,2-dimethoxy-10-(methylthio)-9-oxo-3-[[(2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-2-oxanyl]oxy]-6,7-dihydro-5H-benzo[a]heptalen-7-yl]acetamide is a glycoside.