Objective: To study the effect of triterpenoid saponins(H1) from Ardisia gigantifolia on the proliferation of different tumor cell lines. We select the A549 lung cancer cell line as target cell and detect the influence of triterpenoid saponins H1 on cell apoptosis and cell cycle. Method: The three different concentration of H1 (1.25

2.5

5 μmol·L-1)

were applied to target cells for 24

48

72 hours respectively. The control group was not treated. The MTT [3-(4

5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2

5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] colorimetric method was used to detect the tumor cell line proliferation and select the cell lines sensitive to H1.The fluorescent inverted biological microscope was used to observe cell morphology and cell apoptosis and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry instrument. Result: After comparing the IC50 of H1 acted on the target cell line(MCF-7

HepG2

HeLa

A549

Bel-7402 and BGC-823) for 24

48

72 h

the A549 cell line was proved to be the most sensitive one

a certain concentration of H1 intervention on A549 cells can lead to typical morphological changes and early apoptosis. Cell block was occurred in G2 period

which makes S period increased dramatically. The difference between Medium and high dose group and the negative control group differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: The H1 in a certain range of doses can inhibit the proliferation of six different tumor cell lines and select the A549 tumor cell as target on cell apoptosis and cell cycle.The mechanism of apoptosis induced by A549 cell may be related to cell cycle arrest.