Effects of Rosa roxburghii extract on proliferation and differentiation in human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells and CD34+ haematopoietic cells

Rosa roxburghii Tratt is an herbal medicine with anticancer potential. This study investigated the effects of an ethanol extracts and a triterpene (CiLi triterpene) of Rosa roxburghii on proliferation and differentiation of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells and in umbilical cord blood CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells. The CiLi triterpene and ethanol extracts inhibited the proliferation of hepatoma cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner and decreased the release of alpha-fetoprotein from hepatoma cells. Apoptosis was increased only at the highest dose of the ethanol extract in hepatoma cells. The Cili triterpene and ethanol extracts of Rosa roxburghii did not affect the differentiation of cord blood CD34(+) cells to granulocytes and monocytes, as evidenced by flow cytometry analysis of CD11b and CD15. Thus the Cili triterpene and ethanol extracts of Rosa roxburghii are effective in the inhibition of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cell growth, without affecting the differentiation of CD34(+) cells.