Abstract: Cucurbitacin B is a pharmaceutical component extracted from stalk of muskmelon. Previous studies have demonstrated that it can prevent damage of hepatocytes. But this mechanism was not cleared yet. The aim of our work is to study cucurbitacin B protecting effects on hepatocytes associated with inhibiting apoptosis signals transduction. The apoptosis model of neonate rat was constructed by induction of H2O2, and then hepatocytes were treated with cucurbitacin B in three concentrations of various dose(3,10,30mmol/L respectively).Flow cytometry were conducted to investigate early apoptosis ratio. The ratio of early apoptosis cells in high(21.4%) and middle dose groups(36.2%) was decreased significantly compared with model group(68. 3%, p<0.01). The results suggested that cucurbitacin B could inhibit the apoptosis of neonate rat hepatocytes induced by H 2 O 2 .

Key words: cucurbitacin B, apoptosis, hepatocytes