Abstract
The antiproliferative activity of phyllanthin (the major constituent in the decoction of Phyllanthus niruri L.) against human liver carcinoma HepG2 cells, the mechanism of cell death and the protective effect against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatotoxicity in mice were investigated. Phyllanthin showed dose- and time-dependent growth inhibitions of HepG2 cells with the lowest EC50 value (10.16 ± 0.21 µg/ml) at 72 hours of treatment. Acute exposure to this compound exerted a significant caspase-3 expression that reached its peak after 8 hours of treatment (P