Quercetin - A Flavonoid Compound from Sarcopyramis bodinieri var delicate with Potential Apoptotic Activity in HepG2 Liver Cancer Cells

Purpose: To isolate and identify the cytotoxicity of the constituents of Sarcopyramis bodinieri var. delicate. Methods: S. bodinieri var. delicate was extracted with hydrochloric acid-methanol and fractionated with ethyl acetate further. The chemical constituents of the ethyl acetate fraction were purified by a combination of D101 macroporous resin and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. The structure was characterized by ^1H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Apoptosis was evaluated by fluorescence staining and Western blot analysis using 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) SDS-PAGE tests in HepG2 liver cancer cells. Results: One flavonoid with high purity was purified by the combination of D101 macroporous resin and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. The flavonoid compound was identified as quercetin by ^1H-NMR and ESI-MS analyses. DAPI staining and PARP SDS-PAGE tests showed 60 μM quercetin could induce potential apoptotic activity in HepG2 liver cancer cells. Conclusion: Quercetin was the major cytotoxicity constituent in S. bodinieri var. delicate.