In vitro antitumor activities of the fractions of the petroleum ether extract primarily separated from Stellera Chamaejasmel L. by column chromatography on silica gel

Objective: To screen the antitumor activity of the petroleum ether extract separated from Stellera Chamaejasmel L.. Methods: The column chromatography on silica gel was used to separate the petroleum ether extract fractions a 1 to a 4. The in vitro antitumor activities of the different fractions were analyzed with MTT assay. Results: The fractions of a 1 and a 2 strongly inhibited cell proliferation of human tumor cell lines such as leukemia HL-60, stomach cancer SGC-7901 and hepatocarcinoma BEL-7402, and showed significant dose-dependent response to inhibit, while the fraction of a 4 exhibited no obvious inhibitory activities. Conclusion: The antitumor components are in the petroleum-ethylacetate fractions.