The apoptosis-inducing effect of ginsenoside F4 from steamed notoginseng on human lymphocytoma JK cells

In this study, the inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effect of ginsenoside F4 (GF4) from steamed notoginseng was investigated by using human lymphocytoma Jurkat (JK) cell. Cell Counting Kit-8 method was then used to assess the anti-proliferative effect of GF4, and Western blotting was run to detect the expression level of two apoptosis-related proteins including Bax and the Bcl-2. The results suggested that GF4 can effectively inhibit the proliferation of the cells, and Bax expression increased gradually, but Bcl-2 expression reduced with the increase of GF4 concentration. In conclusion, GF4 has inhibitory effect on human lymphocytoma JK cell by inducing its apoptosis. The mechanism of action could be related to the mitochondrial dysfunction and the increase of Bax expression and decrease of Bcl-2 expression by GF4.