Abstract: In this study, the in vitro anticancer activity of alkaloids extracted from Ba lotus seeds was determined to confirm its physiological activity. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), 4’,6-diamidino- 2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) methods were used to determine the potential of the alkaloids for inhibiting the proliferation and inducing the apoptosis of human hepatoma HepG2 cells in vitro. The alkaloids from Ba lotus seeds could inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells, but had no toxicity to normal liver cells L02. From morphological observation, it was shown that the alkaloids at higher concentrations could induce more significant apoptosis in cancer cells and lead to cell death. Meanwhile, the alkaloids could up-regulate the mRNA expression levels of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, p53 and p21, and down-regulate the mRNA expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL in HepG2 cells, thereby promoting apoptosis in cancer cells. Therefore, the alkaloids from Ba lotus seeds are a class of bioactive components with excellent anticancer effect in vitro.

Key words: Ba lotus seed, alkaloid, human hepatoma HepG2 cells, apoptosis, mRNA expression