Effect of extract from Yiyuan Yiliu Tang on human lung adenocarcinoma and human hepatoma cell lines.

Abstract

To investigate the efficacy of the extract from Yiyuan Yiliu Tang (, YYYLT) on human lung adenocarcinoma cells A549 and human hepatoma cells Bel7402. The cancer cell lines were treated with various concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 μg/mL) of the crude water extract of YYYLT and then cell viability, toxicity, cytokine secretion, and cell cycle/apoptosis were determined by MTT assay, LDH assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. The extract from YYYLT significantly suppressed the proliferation of the cancer cell lines and the release of interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor-α in a dose-dependent manner. The extract also promoted apoptosis, caused cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, and increased the expression of caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2-associated X proteins. The extract from YYYLT might be a potential treatment for human lung and liver cancers.