Asperosaponin VI (Akebia saponin D) , the most abundant constituent of the rhizome of Dipsacus asper, has been used for the treatment of lower back pain, traumatic hematoma and bone fractures.

Cells are grown on 12-mm diameter glass coverslips in DMEM 100% serum and various concentrations of KN-93 or KN-92. After 0, 1, 2, and 3 days of culture in the presence of drug, coverslips are removed from culture, rinsed once in PBS, and then submerged in 100% methanol at -20°C for 3 min. Fixed cells are stored in PBS until staining using the TUNEL assay. Cells are overlaid on 20 μL PBS/1 mg/mL BSA for 30 min, rinsed in PBS, and then overlaid on 20 μL containing 100 mM sodium cacodylate (pH 6.8), 1 mM CoCl2, 0.1 mM DTT, 0.1 mg/mL BSA, 20 μM fluorescein-12-dUTP, and 0.1 unit/μL terminal transferase at 37°C for 60 min. Coverslips are rinsed in PBS twice, mounted on slides, and photographed using an OLYMPUS BX5O epifluorescent microscope using a UPLAN APO 40X oil immersion objective.