Fig. 3. The effect of EC on cell apoptosis in HepG2 cells. HepG2 cells were treated with different concentrations of EC for 24 h. (A). The treated cells were stained with Hoechst 33342/PI, and visualized under a fluorescence microscope (200×), the normal cell was pale blue, the early apoptotic cell appeared bright blue, the late apoptotic and necrotic cells were stained red by PI. (B). The treated cells were stained with Annexin V-FITC/PI, and the apoptosis cells were analyzed by FCM. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD of three experiments (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 vs. 0 mM).