Antitumoral effect of lawsonia inermis extract on melanoma tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice

Background: Medicinal plants occupy an important position for being the paramount sources of drug discovery against cancer. Medicinal plants have been used as cancer chemopreventive nutraceuticals, and functional food is promising. Thus, there is a need for exploring drugs/agents which act as best chemopreventive agents. Lawsonia inermis L. is a well-known medicinal plant which has been used in Ayurvedic medicine as hepatoprotective, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and cytotoxic. Objectives: The main objective of the study is to investigate the in vivo antitumoral effect of L. inermis extract on melanoma tumor-bearing C57BL/6 mice. Materials and Methods: In in vivo experiments, about 5 × 105 B16F10 cells in 50 μL of phosphate-buffered saline were subcutaneously injected into C57BL/6 mice that had received plain drinking water for 40 days. Tumor volume was measured using digital calipers. The behavior of the antioxidant defenses (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) was evaluated after the termination of treatments. Results: Preventive oral administration of L. inermis leave extracts (500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight) significantly suppressed the growth of B16F10 tumors in mice on day 40th, with an increased tumor necrosis area, increased infiltration of mononuclear cells at the site of the tumor. L. inermis L. leaf extract dose dependently reduced the amounts of free oxygen radicals (hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals), generated in chemical systems. Conclusion: Our study suggests that in vivo antitumoral effect of L. inermis extracts is directly linked with enhanced antioxidant activity and depicted a significant reduction in tumor size against melanoma tumor. Hence, further elucidation of active components of L. inermis extract could lead to the development of potent antitumor agent or complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment against skin melanoma tumors.