Abstract: The aim of this paper was to study the purification process of total saponins of H.ventricosa(TSHV) and their anti-tumor activities.Filtrate macroporous resin models and further optimize the process conditions with the adsorption ratio and elution ratio as an indicator.The purified TSHV were screened for antitumor activity in vitro by MTT assay.The results showed that AB-8 macroporous resin was suitable for the purification of TSHV.The optimal purification conditions were as follows: the ratio of H.ventricosa dosage to the amount of macroporous resin was less than 1∶15;4 BV water and 20% ethanol were used to remove impurities,and 6 BV 70% ethanol was eluted at 2 BV·h^-1flow rate.Under these conditions,the purity of TSHV obtained was 57.49%.The prepared TSHV could effectively inhibit the proliferations of SGC-7901,MCF-7 and HepG-2 tumor cells in vitro,the IC₅₀ values of which were 15.47 μg·L^-1,28.08 μg·L^-1 and 17.37 μg·L^-1 respectively,which showed brilliant anti-tumor effects.

Key words: Hosta ventricosa, total saponins, macroreticular resin, antitumor activity, purification