“…Research indicates emodin exhibits concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxic effects on normal hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma cells [ 32 , 33 ]. It is noteworthy that the primary mechanism by which emodin exerts hepatocellular cytotoxicity is through inducing apoptosis [ [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , 34 ]. A study in 2016 found that emodin could increase the ratio of Bax/Bcl2 proteins in HepG2 and primary human hepatocytes, leading to disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and consequent mitochondrial damage.…”