Abstract:

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of Codonopsis lanceolata total saponin(CLTS) on  human hepatoma HepG-2 cells and clarify its regulatory effect on apoptosis.Methods The HepG-2 cells were divided into 6 treatment groups(100,200,300,400,500， and 600 mg/LCLTS) and control group. The inhibitory rate of HepG-2 cell growth was detected by MTT assay and the  IC50 value was calculated after treated for 72 h. The HepG-2 cells were divided into 3 treatment groups(100,150 and 300 mg/L CLTS) and control group. The apoptotic rate  was determined  by flow cytometry,the activities of cspase 8,9 and 3 in carcinoma cells were determined by microplate reader. Results With the increasing of the concentration of CLTS,the inhibitory rate of HepG-2 cell growth was increased,the IC50 value was 239.623 mg/L,the different concentrations of CLTS inhibited the  HepG-2 cells in  dose- and time-dependent manner(P<0.01). The apoptotic rates in treatment groups were significantly higher than that in control group(P<0.01). The activities  of Caspase-8,9 and 3  were remarkably increased after treated with  CLTS  compared with  control group in a dose-dependent manner(P<0.01).Conclusion CLTS  could significantly inhibit the growth of HepG-2 cells.The induction of apoptosis through up-regulating caspase-8 and 9,then activating caspase-3 is probably one of its molecular mechanisms.

Key words: codonopsis lanceolata；total saponin, liver neoplasms；apoptosis