Abstract:This study aim to explore the anti-tumor effect of black ginseng saponins （BGS）.Specifically，sundried ginseng was used to prepare black ginseng in the environment with high temperature and high humidity.Saponins were extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction with ethanol and purified with macroporous resin.Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry（LC-MS）was employed determine the constituents of ginsenosides and BGS.MTT assay，flow cytometry，and Western blotting（WB）were used to investigate the viability of MGC-803 cells and the pro-apoptosis mechanism of BGS.After the purification with macroporous resin，the content of BGS stood at 89.02%.LC-MS suggested that black ginseng had 14 monomer saponins，among which Rg3and Rg5 were rare saponins.The half-maximal inhibitory concentration（IC50）of ginsenosides and BGS on viability of MGC-803 cells in 24 h was 296.64 μg/mL and 141.25 μg/mL，respectively.After the treatment of MGC-803 cells with BGS at 200 μg/mL for 24 h，the total apoptosis rate of 66.96%，mitochondrial membrane potential of 23.45%，and reactive oxygen species （ROS）level of 74.65% were monitored.The expression of Bax，Cyt-C，Caspase-3，and Caspase-9 increased and the expression of Bcl-2 decreased in the saponin treatment group.The study showed that rare saponins formed in the processing of sun-dried ginseng into black ginseng.BGS had stronger anti-tumor activity，and the pro-apoptosis effect was achieved by regulating the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 proteins to decrease mitochondrial membrane potential，induce the release of Cyt-C，and activate Caspase-3 and Caspase-9.