Figure 6.

Z-VAD-fmk prevents caspase activation in response to S. frutescens extract. The activity of (a) caspase8, (b) caspase 9, and (c) caspase 3/7 was measured in cells treated with S. frutescens extract in the absence and presence of Z-VAD-fmk for 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h and expressed as a fold increase relative to the control cells. Error bars represent the SEM (n = 3), ∗ indicates a significant difference from the control-treated cells (P < 0.05), and # indicates a significant difference from the cells treated with S. frutescens alone.