Sophora flavescens, the shrubby sophora, is a species of plant in the genus Sophora of the family Fabaceae. This genus contains about 52 species, nineteen varieties, and seven forms that are widely distributed in Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific islands. About fifteen of these species have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicines.

Sophora flavescens lectin (SFL) is isolated from the seeds with a molecular weight of 32 kDa and shows cytotoxicity agains HeLa cells and antitumor activities. The biological activity analysis results showed that SFL demonstrates antitumor activity against human breast cancer carcinoma MCF-7 in dose and time-dependent manners by inducing apoptotic morphology and arresting the cell cycle in the G2/M phase.