Gelsemine is primarily used in scientific research due to its potent biological activity. It serves as a tool in neuroscience studies for investigating glycine receptors and neuronal signaling pathways. Its ability to interact with the central nervous system makes it valuable in understanding neurotoxic effects and receptor pharmacology. However, because of its high toxicity, it is not used in clinical medicine or consumer products. Limited experimental studies explore its potential in cancer research, where it shows some capacity to induce apoptosis in certain cell lines, but these findings remain preliminary and not applied therapeutically.