Comparison for Antitumor Activities of Some Chinese Medicinal Herb Extracts

The anti-tumor activities of six medical plants (Herba Scutellariae Barbatae, Herba Lobeliae Chinensis, Herba Duchesneae Indicae, Herba Solani Lyrati, Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae, Rhizoma Paridis Chinensis), commonly used as antitumor drugs, have been submitted to tests of MTT, Flow cytometry (FCM), DNA laddering analysis and caspase-3 expression using Bel-7402, HT-29 and HeLa cell lines. Total alkaloids and total glycosides extracts from Rhizoma Paridis Chinensis showed stronger action on inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis of tumour cells.