Abstract

Wu Yejin and Wang Yanqun*

We have studied the inhibition of polysaccharides of Astragalus membranaceus against liver cancer cell HepG2. The polysaccharides at higher doses (25 mg/ml) have stronger antitumour effects, decreasing more than 40.5% (24 h) and 67.3% (48 h) of liver cancer HepG2 cell viability. A high percentage of apoptotic HepG2 cells was found at 25 mg/ml of A. membranaceus polysaccharides. 23.9 and 38.2% of cells experienced apoptosis when HepG2 cells were treated for 24 and 48 h with 25 mg/ml of A. membranaceus polysaccharides. Consequently, the results of the in vitro assays suggest that the A. membranaceus polysaccharides possesses strong antitumour activities, which is benefical to treatment of liver cancer.