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A water soluble extract from a plant of Solanum genus consists essentially of at least 6O%-90% of solamargine and solasonine. A process for preparing the water soluble extract from the plant of Solenum genus involves the steps of hydrolysis with an acid, precipitation with a base, and separation treatments using chloroform, alcohol and water as extraction solvents. The water soluble extract prepared from the process can be directly dissolved in pure or neutral pH water to form a yellowish clear and transparent aqueous solution having a water solubility ranging from 2—20 mg/ml or higher. The water soluble extract can be used as an active component in a pharmaceutical composition for inhibiting the growth of tumor/cancer cells, in particular liver cancer cells, lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells. (FIG.)nil