The objective of this study was to evaluate novel usability as natural anti-obesity supplement of Selaginella tamariscina extract. The total phenol contents and total flavonoid contents were 60.29±3.11 GAE mg/g and 14.90±0.34 QE mg/g, respectively. To evaluate anti-obesity activity of Selaginella tamariscina extract, pancreatic lipase inhibition activity as well as its inhibition effect of lipid accumulation in adipocytes were conducted by Oil Red O staining and lipolysis assay. The result of pancreatic lipase inhibition activity of S. tamariscina extract showed a wide range between 40 and 73% dose dependently. While the incubation of 3T3-L1 cells with S. tamariscina extract inhibited differentiation of preadipocytes and reduced lipid accumulation, the level of released free glycerol into culturing medium was increased in multiple concentrations. These results showed that S. tamariscina extract inhibit adipogenesis and pancreatic lipase activity. Thus, S. tamariscina extract can be a candidate for regulating lipid accumulation in obesity.

In order to study the antitumoral effect of Selaginella tamariscina extracts, the cytotoxicities to human histiocytic leukemia cells (U937) and lymphocyte were measured by MTT method. The water extract of Selaginella tamariscina was partitioned into chloroform (CHCl₃), ethylacetate (EtAc), n-butanol (BuOH) and water (H₂O), successively. CHCl₃, EtAc and BuOH fractions of Selaginella tamariscina showed the cytotoxicity to the U937 cells but they had no effect on the cytotoxicity of lymphocyte under the same conditions. The tumor-specific cytotoxicity of Selaginella tamariscina fractions might have been attributed to their genotoxic effect on actively proliferating cells. The expression of p53 tumor suppressor gene was then evaluated by northern blotting. The increased expression of p53 was induced by Selaginella ramariscina fraction V but no expression of p53 was induced by CHCl₃, EtAc, and BuOH fractions of Selaginella tamariscina. These results suggested that the increased expression of p53 induced by Selaginella tamariscina water extract (fraction V) should be required for the cytotoxicity on U937 and the other fractions of Selaginella tamariscina mediated the U937 disruption.