ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the growth inhibition of Weikangfu recipe on S180 tumor and its apoptotic induction.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>S180-bearing mice were orally administrated with different dosages of Weikangfu recipe, and the growth inhibition was evaluated; apoptotic cells induced were detected by flow cytometry and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Weikangfu recipe showed significant inhibition on the growth of S180 tumor in a dose-dependent manner, compared with the control group. From apoptotic analyses, Weikangfu recipe induced a dose-dependent apoptosis of S180 tumor cells and arrested the cell cycle distribution at G0-G1 phase. At the same time, the up-regulation of p53 and bax and down-regulation of bcl-2 were observed in S180 tumor cells of the treated groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our findings demonstrate that Weikangfu recipe can significantly inhibit the growth of S180 tumor and induce apoptosis through expression alteration of p53, bax and bcl-2.</p>