Verbascoside(VB),a major bioactive constituent of the Tsoong herb,has attracted a great deal of attention due to its pharmacological properties.In this study,we demonstrated the inhibitory effect of VB-loaded gold nanoparticles(VB-Au)on the growth of K562 cells both in vitro and in vivo.We found that,in contrast with the same concentration of gold nanoparticles(Au)or VB,VB-Au significantly decreased the viability of K562 cells and promoted the apoptosis of tumor cells.A tumor implantation mouse model further showed that the intravenous injection of VB-Au effectively inhibited the growth and induced the apoptosis of tumor cells.