Ethanolic extracts of Sophora moorcroftiana seeds induce apoptosis of human stomach cancer cell line SGC-7901 in vitro

The seeds of Sophora moorcroftiana are used in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of verminosis, infectious diseases, and anti-inflammation. To investigate the antitumor and induction of apoptosis activity of Sophora moorcroftiana seeds, the ethanolic extracts from the seeds was prepared and added into the culture of human stomach cancer cell line SGC-7901 in vitro. The proliferation and apoptosis of cells treated with the ethanolic extracts were assessed by tetrazolium salt reduction (MTT) assay, fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry and agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA fragmentation. The results showed that the growth of SGC-7901 cells was strongly inhibited by the ethanolic extracts at the concentration ranging between 0.31-5.00 mg/ml, and the apoptosis of treated cells was induced at the concentration of 1.25, 2.50, and 5.00 mg/ml in vitro. This suggested that the ethanolic extracts from S. moorcroftiana seeds contain potent antitumor fraction(s) on human stomach cancer SGC-7901 cells.