Litchi is antiproliferative and induces programmed cell death in human liver cancer cells. - GreenMedInfo Summary

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Semen Litchi containing serum on proliferation and apoptosis of HepG2 cells. METHODS: The Semen litchi or CTX containing serum and control serum were prepared by serologic pharmacology method. MTT assay was used to observe the proliferation inhibition rate of HepG2 cells after incubated with different kinds of drug's containing serum. Nuclear morphological features of HepG2 cells were detected by fluorescencemicroscopy after staining with Hochest33258. The apoptosis rate of HepG2 cells in each group was detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The cell viability and the apoptosis rate of HepG2 cells in Semen Litchi containing serum groups were higher than that of control group, and the results of fluorescencemicroscopy observation showed the nuclear morphological change of apoptosis. CONCLUSION: Semen Litchi can inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells, the acting mechanism may be concerned with cell apoptosis.