Assessment of anticancer activity: A comparison of dose–response effect of ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts of Pergularia daemia (Forsk)

BackgroundOral cancer is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide and is thus an important cause of death and morbidity. Although several drugs have been developed for the treatment of oral cancer, naturally occurring phytochemicals have been recommended by nutritionists and health experts to treat various types of cancer. Pergularia daemia is a well-known herb distributed across India, finding many uses in medicine.AimThe present study was mainly designed to determine the dose–response effect of the whole plant extract of P. daemia on experimental oral carcinogenesis.Materials and methodsMale golden Syrian hamsters were painted with 0.5% of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in liquid paraffin on the left buccal pouch to induce oral cancer, thrice a week for 14 weeks. The anticancer effect of the ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts of P. daemia was observed to be dose dependent (100, 200, and 300 mg/kg body weight (bwt)) by assessing the bwt, tumor incidence, changes in oxidant/antioxidant levels, and histological alterations of control and experimental animals.ResultsOur results showed that of the three doses used, the high dose (300 mg/kg bwt) exhibited excellent antioxidant activity in comparison to the other two doses. Moreover, our findings suggest that the methanolic extract significantly inhibited cancer development to a greater extent than the ethyl acetate extract.ConclusionThus, it could be concluded that the whole plant of P. daemia presents an easily accessible source of natural antioxidants, and regular consumption can reduce the incidence of oral cancer.