Total saponins of Panax notoginseng (tPNS) have been shown to increase protein expression and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.In this study:the effects of tPNS on angiogenesis were investigated in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs).rBMSCs were stimulated by tPNS of 48 h.The mRNA expression levels of VEGF-A, Flt-1 and Kdr in rBMSCs were determined by quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR).rBMSCs were induced to differentiate into endotheliallike cells and the ability of cellular angiogenesis was assayed by a Matrigel model.The results showed that the exposure of tPNS lead to the mRNA expression level of VEGF-A up-regulation, in the 10 μg/mL and 100 pg/mL tPNS groups was higher than that in control group by 38% and 68.6% respectively, all P<0.01.The exposure of tPNS also up-regulated the expression of Kdr, in the 10pg/mL and 100 μg/mL tPNS groups were the control group 2 times and 5 times respectively, all P<0.01.The expression of Flt-1 showed no statistical difference among the three groups.Matrigel angiogenesis assays showed that rBMSCs after endothelial differentiation were able to form the capillary network and the exposure of tPNS increased significantly total tubule length and area.These results suggest that tPNS up-regulate VEGF and Kdr gene expression and promote angiogenesis in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.