Baicalein is one component of the dried root of Scutellaria Baicalensis Georgi. (Huang Qin) which is widely used in the traditional Chinese herbal medicine. In this study, we report that baicalein was able to induce apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60), as characterized by poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and DNA fragmentation. The efficacious induction of apoptosis was observed at 100 microM for 6 h. Mechanistic analysis demonstrated that baicalein induced the cleavage of Bid protein, cytochrome c release from mitochondria into cytosol, and activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9. Moreover, baicalein caused elevation of intracellular hydrogen peroxide level. Catalase could effectively block baicalein-induced DNA fragmentation. These data indicate that baicalein may trigger an apoptotic death program through reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction pathway. The findings enhance our understanding of anticancer function of baicalein in herbal medicine.

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