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