Effects of saikosaponins-d on proliferation and cell cycle of HepG2 cell line

Objective To study the effects of saikosaponins-d(SSd) on proliferation and cell cycle in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line,HepG2 cell line.Methods HepG2 cells were cultured and treated with SSd.The cell growth rate was measured by monotetrazdium(MTT) assay and the cell cycle was determined by the flow cytometry(FCM) analysis.Results The SSd obviously inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cell line in a concentration and time dependent manner,the maximum response of the cells to SSd was at the concentration of 10mg/L and the treatment time-point of 48h.Compared with the control,the cells treated with 10mg/L SSd for 48h significantly reduce cell numbers in S phase (P0.01).Conclusion The SSd could inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cell line and arrest its cell cycle in S phase.