目的 研究白茅根Imperatae Rhizoma中的三萜类化合物芦竹素对人前列腺癌PC3细胞的作用，为三萜类化合物在抗肿瘤方面的应用提供新的依据。方法 芦竹素从白茅根中提取分离得到。用不同浓度（20、40、80 μmol/L）的芦竹素处理PC3细胞，采用噻唑蓝（MTT）法检测细胞增殖率；通过流式细胞术Annexin V/PI双染色检测细胞凋亡和细胞周期分布情况；Western blotting法检测多聚腺苷二磷酸核糖聚合酶（PARP）及与细胞凋亡相关的其他蛋白表达量的变化。结果 芦竹素能够剂量和时间依赖性地抑制PC3细胞的增殖，并可诱导PC3细胞凋亡。浓度为20、40、80 μmol/L的芦竹素作用PC3细胞24 h后，细胞凋亡率显著增加至13.7%、37.2%、61.6%，明显高于对照组凋亡率（3.5%）；经过20、40、80 μmol/L芦竹素分别处理24 h后，PC3细胞中凋亡蛋白标志物PARP裂解量升高，且呈剂量依赖性。结论 芦竹素能抑制PC3细胞的增殖并诱导其凋亡，推测其作用机制与激活PARP有关。

Objective To study the potential apoptotic effect of arundoin on human prostatic cancer cells. Methods Arundoin was isolated and purified from the crude ethanol extract of Imperatae Rhizoma. Human prostatic cancer cell line PC3 was treated with arundoin. The relative cell viabilities were determined by MTT assay; Apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin V/PI dual staining with flow cytometry; The protein expression levels of Poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) and other apoptotic related proteins were detected by Western blotting. Results Arundoin (20, 40, and 80 μmol/L) reduced the viability of PC3 cells dose- and time-dependently. Moreover, arundoin induced apoptosis in PC3 cells. Western blotting analysis showed that arundoin up-regulated the expression level of PARP in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, apoptosis related proteins such as Bax, Bcl-2, and casapases were all affected by arundoin. Conclusion Arundoin could induce apoptosis in human prostatic cancer cells, which provides novel information for clinical application of arundoin and its preparations for the prostatic cancer patients.