Saponins of several herbs are known to induce apoptosis in many cancer cells. The present study aimed to investigate the growth inhibitory effect of Paris saponin VII (PS VII), a kind of steroidal saponins from Chonglou (Rhizoma Paridis Chonglou), on the human cervical cancer cell line Hela and the relative molecular mechanisms.

Hela cells were exposed to different concentrations of PS VII (1 to 100 μM). Inhibition of cell proliferation was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays. The amount of apoptotic cells was evaluated by flow cytometric analysis. And the protein level of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9, Bax, and Bcl-2 was evaluated by Western blot.

The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of PS VII for the growth inhibition of Hela cells was 2.62 ± 0.11 μM. PS VII increased the expression of caspase-3, caspase-9, and Bax while decreased that of Bcl-2, suggesting that PS VII may induce apoptosis through intrinsic apoptotic ways.

These data indicate that PS VII has the potential for the treatment of cervical cancer.