Abstract: Polytrichum commune L.ex Hedw is a traditional Chinese herb for treatment of fever,hemostatic,uterine prolapse and especially for lymphocytic leukemia.The aim of present study was to investigate the chemical components and the possible anti-proliferative activity of P.commune ethanol extract.The systematic pre-test method was used to preliminarily analyze the chemical components of P.commune.The obtained results showed that there were essential oils, lipid, saccharide, glycosides, saponin, alkaloid,flavonoid,coumarin and terpene lactone in P.commune.The cytotoxic activity was measured by MTT assay.Results showed that the cell viability of L1210 cells was reduced by P.commune ethanol extract in a concentration-dependent manner,and the IC₅₀ value was about 77.22 μg/mL at 24 h post treatment.In addition,the anti-tumor effects of ethanol extract of sporophyte and gametophyte from P.commune were comparatively studied.MTT assay results showed that both of them can inhibit proliferation of leukemia cells (L1210 cells,K562 cells,U937 cells).However,the anti-tumor activity of sporophyte was found to be higher than that of gametophyte.This was the first report on comparative research of antitumor effect of sporophyte and gametophyte from P.commune in cultured leukemia cells,which provided scientific basis for its usefulness as traditional medicine.Further studies are needed to confirm the precise mechanism not only the crude extract but as well the monomeric chemical substances of P.commune.

Key words: Polytrichum commune L.ex Hedw, preliminary chemical test, anti-tumor effect in vitro, sporophyte, gametophyte