Phytopharmacological investigation of Uraria picta and Tamarix indica against DMBA induced skin cancer in mice

Abstract

newlineAfter collecting the plants, they were dried and ground into a coarse powder using a newlinemechanical grinder. The plant materials that were powdered were heated and extracted using a newlineseries of solvents ranging from petroleum ether to aqueous, each with an increasing polarity. newlineThe extracts were evaluated for antioxidant activity using DPPH free radical scavenging newlineactivity. The two different doses of extracts of both the plants i.e. U. picta (200 and 400 mg/Kg) newlineand T. indica (250 and 500 mg/Kg) as lower median and higher median doses were selected for newlinethe study of chemopreventive activity against DMBA and croton oil-induced carcinogenesis in newlinemice. Animals were randomly divided into four main categories having 11 groups consisting newlineof 6 mice each. The first categorized group was considered the normal control group (Group I) newlineand applied acetone twice weekly till 16 weeks. The second categorized group was considered newlinethe disease control group (Group II) and applied 1% DMBA in acetone on the initial day newlinefollowed after two weeks by applying Croton oil in acetone twice weekly until the end of the newlinestudy. The third categorized group was considered the extract treatment group and given the newlineextract orally 1 hour prior in addition to the Group II treatment. This third category consists of newlinefour groups (Group III, IV, V, and VI) of each plant with two different extracts (methanol and newlineaqueous) in two different doses (lower and higher median). Similarly, the fourth categorized newlinegroup was considered the standard drug treatment group (Group VII) and given methotrexate newline(10 mg/Kg orally) 1 hour prior in addition to the disease control group treatment. newlineThe body weight, cumulative tumor counts, and tumor incidences of mice were measured newlineweekly. In contrast, the tumor morphological parameters such as tumor burden and yield, newlineaverage latency period, and inhibition of tumor multiplicity were determined at the end of 16 newlineweeks.