Abstract
BackgroundMelanoma is a metastatic type of skin cancer that is difficult to treat and the majority of efforts are directed to the design of new drugs. Medicinal Plants have been the primary source of medicines since life on earth; more than 50% of existing cancer treatments is derived from plants. Bauhinia variegata is well-known medicinal plant used from the ancient era to till date for their medicinal values. Scientific literatures have not documented any evidence of the antitumour potential of Bauhinia variegata against B16F10 melanoma tumor model in C57BL mice. The present investigation was undertaken to explore the antitumour activity of Leaf, stem bark and flower extract of Bauhinia variegata against B16F10 melanoma tumour model in C57BL mice.MethodsHydro-methanolic extract prepared from the leaf, stem bark and flower of Bauhinia variegata were assessed for their antitumor activity. The extracts at doses of 500 and 750 mg/kg b.wt. were given orally along with cyclophosphamide (chemotherapeutic drug) for 40 days for exploring antitumor activity against melanoma tumor (B16F10) in C57BL mice. Inhibition of tumor growth, increase in survival time of animal with treatment, histopathological studies and antioxidant parameter were determined.ResultsThe Present investigation showed significant effect of the B. variegata L. in preventing melanoma tumor by B16F10 cell line in C57BL/6 mice. As compared with the tumour control group, the remarkable results especially in the group which received B. variegata extract and cyclophosphamide together were obtained for all of the measured parameters. Dose dependent response was observed in tumor volume, inhibition rate, life span time and antioxidant parameter of extracts. Combination treatment of cyclophosphamide and B. variegata extracts showed more pronounced effect.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that B. variegata hydromethanolic extract may contain bioactive compounds of potential therapeutic significance which are relatively safe from toxic effects, and can compromise the medicinal use of this plant in folk medicine.
Highlights
Melanoma is a metastatic type of skin cancer that is difficult to treat and the majority of efforts are directed to the design of new drugs
The present study evaluates the chemopreventive effect of the different parts and different doses of B. variegata on B16F10 melanoma tumor on C57BL mice
In LD50 studies it were found that the different parts of B. variegata extract did not produce any signs of toxicity or mortality up to the dose level 5000 mg/kg b.wt
Summary
Melanoma is a metastatic type of skin cancer that is difficult to treat and the majority of efforts are directed to the design of new drugs. Five decades of systemic drug discovery and development have resulted in the establishment of a large collection of useful chemotherapeutic agents. Some of these plant-derived compounds are widely used for chemotherapy of cancerous patients. 5-fluorouracil, a common chemotherapeutic agent, is known to cause myelotoxicity [3], cardiotoxicity [4] and has even been shown to act as a vasospastic agent in rare but documented cases [5] Another widely used chemodrug, doxorubicin causes cardiac toxicity [6,7,8], renal toxicity [9], and myelotoxicity. Cyclophosphamide, a drug to treat many malignant conditions, has been shown to have bladder toxicity in the form of hemorrhagic cystitis, immunosuppression, alopecia and at high doses cardiotoxicity [15]
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