Induction of G1 arrest and apoptosis by Scutellaria barbata in the human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cell line.

Scutellaria barbata has been used to treat cancer in Chinese medicine. The responsible anticancer mechanism, however, is not clear. Here we demonstrated an inhibitory mechanism due to a Scutellaria barbata extract (SBE) on a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60) that has a mutation in the tumor suppressor gene p53.