β-elemene was isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb rhizomae.In this paper,the effect of β-elemene on the growth of K562 cells was evaluated by MTT,Hoechst 33342 and PI fluorescent double,and flow cytometry assay.The result showed that β-elemene conld suppress cell growth and induce apoptosis in K562 cells with positive dependence on the concentration and the duration of β-elemene treatment,and its IC50 values was 1714μg/ml.These results suggested that the induction of apoptosis may be one of importment...