Effects of Banxia Xiexin Decoction (半夏泻心汤) on Cisplatin-Induced Apoptosis of Human A549 Lung Cancer Cells

Objective To examinie the synergistic effects of Banxia Xiexin Decoction (半夏泻心汤, Known as Banhasasim-tang in Korean) extract (BXDE) on cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity in the A549 human lung cancer cell lines. Methods A549 cells were treated with varying concentrations (50–200 μg/mL) of cisplatin and BXDE alone or in combination for 96 h. We used 1-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenylformazan assay and flow cytometry to analyze cell viability and apoptosis, respectively. Results The exposure of cells to cisplatin and BXDE alone or in combination decreased cell viability dose- and time-dependently ( P