The sensitivity of hepatoma cells to total aqueous extract from Artemisia argyi

The sensitivity of hepatoma cells to total aqueous extract(TAE) from Artemisia argyi was investigated. HepG2 cells were treated with the extract at the concentrations of 17.5 mg(Artemisia argyi)/ml, 35 mg(Artemisia argyi)/ml, and 70mg(Artemisia argyi)/ml. Inverted microscope observation found that the total aqueous extract induced cell shrinkage after 12h, and ultimately cell death after persistent cell shrinkage, and the effect of inducing cell death correlated positively with the drug concentration. The MTT assay showed, after 12h~48h treatment of HepG2 cells, that there was a significant decrease of the OD values in every treated group compared with control group (P<;;0.01). Colony-forming test found that the total aqueous extract markedly affected colony-forming efficiency without dose-dependency. The results showed that there was a high sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells to the total aqueous extract. The total aqueous extract could lead to the shrinkage of hepatocellular carcinoma cell, block cell proliferation, and induce cell death. Further studies of active component of the total aqueous extract from Artemisia argyi are under the way.