Antiproliferative and antimitotic effect, S phase accumulation and induction of apoptosis and necrosis after treatment of extract from Rhodiola rosea rhizomes on HL-60 cells.

Rhodiola rosea is a medicinal plant having stimulating and adaptogenic properties, and some reports also indicate its anticancer and antimutagenic effect. However, the mechanism of its anticancer effect is unknown as there have been no cytological studies regarding cytostatics, cell cycle, induction of apoptosis or the mitotic activity of healthy and cancerous cells. In the present paper, those parameters were investigated using HL-60 cells, with flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy.