Figure 2.

Effect of astragaloside IV (AS-IV) on the viability of cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The viability of the cells was determined by MTT assay after incubating the cells for 2, 4 and 6 h with H₂O₂ for 24 h. (A) Cell viability at 4 h after H₂O₂ exposure (300 µmol/l). (B) Cell viability group in the absence or (C) presence of H₂O₂ exposure. (D) DAPI staining showing nuclear fragmentation and nuclear DNA condensation following exposure to 300 µmol/l H₂O₂, AS-IV and vitamin C (Vit C) at 200 mg/l. Medium with 0.1% DMSO was used as a standard to normalise the results. The data are the means ± SEM (n=3). ^##P<0.01 vs. control (untreated cells); ^**P<0.05 vs. H₂O₂ (300 µmol/l).