In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of deoxyelephantopin from a potential medicinal plant Elephantopus scaber against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma

Abstract

Elephantopus scaber Linn. is a perennial medicinal herb widely used in Asian traditional medicine for the treatment of different kinds of neoplasm. The aim of the present study was to appraise the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of deoxyelephantopin (DOE) - the active principle isolated from E. scaber against murine Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC). Intraperitoneal administration of DOE (25 mg/kg) reduced the ascites tumor volume to a better extend than the treatments with same concentrations of 5-Flourouracil (5-FU) in EAC ascites tumor model and increased the life span of treated mice with respect to control mice (p ˂ 0.001). Moreover, treatment with 25 mg/kg DOE reduced the tumor volume and tumor burden in EAC solid tumor model and showed the best overall survival responses (Log-Rank p value < 0.001). DOE exhibited impressive cytotoxicity against EAC cells in vitro. Morphological analysis of DOE-treated EAC cells showed membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation-signs of apoptotic cell death. Assessment for DNA laddering in DOE-treated EAC cells confirmed that DOE caused EAC cell death by apoptosis. The present study showed that even lower doses of DOE has better in vivo antitumor activity, than the widely used chemotherapeutic agent- 5-FU. Thus, it is obvious that DOE shall be developed as a useful chemotherapeutic drug for cancer treatment in near future.