Cytotoxicity of a plant steroidal saponin on human lung cancer cells.

Trillium tschonoskii Maxim has been used to treat several diseases, including cancers, in folk medicine. The primary objective of the present study was to test whether TTB2, a steroidal saponin isolated from n-BuOH extracts, might exert effects on cell survival, morphology, cell cycle, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial function in a lung cancer cell line. It was found that TTB2 had anti-proliferative and morphological influence, leading to the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in a dose-dependent manner. A significant increase in the level of intracellular ROS and an accumulation of cells in the G2/M phases of the cell cycle were also observed in treated cells. In summary, our results indicated that this compound might have potential use for the treatment of cancer.