Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the major incidence and one of the most life-threatening cancer. How to conquer HCC is a worldwide issue for patients. Zhiheshouwu (Polygoni multiflori Radix Praeparata) is a Chinese medicinal herb exhibiting both lowering lipid and inhibiting cancer cells. However, it remains a matter if its inhibiting cancer cells is related to its lowering lipid. In this study, we investigate the effects of Zhiheshouwu ethanolic extract (HSWE) on apoptosis and the underlying mechanisms in Bel-7402 cells. The results showed that HSWE inhibited the proliferation with an increased level of ALT and AST in Bel-7402 cells. The decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) was observed in HSWE-treated Bel-7402 cells. The flow cytometry results showed that HSWE triggered apoptosis. Since mitochondrial injury is characterized as intrinsic apoptotic cell death, these data indicated that HSWE may induce intrinsic apoptosis in Bel-7402 cells. In addition, HSWE decreased the production of unsaturated fatty acids, and inhibited the mRNA and protein of SCD1 and its up-stream factor, sterol-regulatory element binding proteins 1 (SREBP1), a master transcriptional regulator of lipogenic gene. Taken together, these data suggest that HSWE induces an intrinsic apoptosis, and reduced unsaturated fatty acids by blocking SREBP1 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

肝细胞癌（HCC）是主要发病率，也是最威胁生命的癌症之一。对于患者来说，如何克服肝癌是一个世界性的问题。芝首乌丹参是一种中草药，具有降低血脂和抑制癌细胞的作用。但是，其抑制癌细胞是否与降低脂质有关仍然是一个问题。在这项研究中，我们研究了止痛寿五乙醇提取物（HSWE）对Bel-7402细胞凋亡及其潜在机制的影响。结果表明，HSWE抑制了Bel-7402细胞的增殖，并增加了ALT和AST的水平。在经HSWE处理的Bel-7402细胞中观察到线粒体膜电位（ΔΨm）降低。流式细胞仪检测结果表明，HSWE触发了细胞凋亡。由于线粒体损伤的特征是固有凋亡细胞死亡，这些数据表明HSWE可能诱导Bel-7402细胞固有凋亡。此外，HSWE减少了不饱和脂肪酸的产生，并抑制SCD1的mRNA和蛋白及其上游因子固醇调节元件结合蛋白1（SREBP1），后者是生脂基因的主要转录调节因子。综上所述，这些数据表明HSWE通过阻断肝细胞癌细胞中的SREBP1诱导固有的凋亡，并减少不饱和脂肪酸。