In order to elucidate the anti-cancer effects of polysaccharides in fig (Ficus carica L.) leaves,three fig varieties,‘Brunswick’,‘Masui Dauphine’ and ‘Bo Jihong’ were used in the experiments.The polysaccharides were extracted from fig leaves which were harvested from July to November and their inhibitory effects on human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells were investigated.It was found that all examples exhibited a certain inhibitory effect on SGC-7901 cells,among which,the leaf polysaccharide of ‘Brunswick’ in September was the most effective,with an inhibition of 46.67% at a dosage of 2 mg/mL.Using the leaf polysaccharides of ‘Brunswick’ in this period for the following experiments,it was found that the cycle of cancer cells was significantly blocked by different concentrations of polysaccharides.The content of ROS and the rate of apoptosis were significantly promoted after polysaccharide treatments.The expressions of pro-apoptotic genes Bax and p53 were up-regulated at the mRNA level,while that of anti-apoptotic genes Bcl-2 and cell cycle-related genes,including Cyclins and CDKs,were down-regulated.The above results indicate that the polysaccharides from fig leaves can increase the apoptotic gene expressions of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells,depress that of anti-apoptotic genes,stimulate cellular ROS burst,block cell proliferation,and stimulate cell apoptosis.These findings provide theoretical basis for utilization of fig leaf polysaccharides for anti-cancer medicine.