Antitumor efficacy and amelioration of oxidative stress by Trichosanthes dioica root against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mice

Context: Trichosanthes dioica Roxb. (Cucurbitaceae) is a dioecious climber, traditionally used in India for several medicinal purposes. Objective: The present study assessed the hydroalcoholic extract of T. dioica root (TDA) for antitumor effect and antioxidant influence against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) in Swiss albino mice. Methods: Twenty four hours after intraperitoneal inoculation of tumor (EAC) cells in mice, TDA was administered at 5 and 10 mg/kg body weight daily for 9 consecutive days. On the 10th day, half of the mice were sacrificed for estimation of tumor proliferation, hematological, and liver antioxidant parameters viz. lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT); and the rest were kept alive for assessment of increase in life span. The antitumor effect of TDA was assessed by evaluating tumor weight, tumor volume, packed cell volume, viable and non-viable tumor cell counts, median survival time and percentage increase in life span of EAC bearing mice. Results and discussion: TDA exhibited dose dependent and significant (p < 0.001) decrease in tumor weight, tumor volume, packed cell volume and viable cell count and extended the life span of EAC bearing hosts. Hematological profiles were significantly (p < 0.001) restored near to normal in TDA treated mice as compared to EAC control. TDA treatment significantly (p < 0.001) modulated the aforesaid liver antioxidant parameters as compared to EAC control. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that TDA possessed promising antitumor efficacy in mice, plausibly mediated by amelioration of oxidative stress by multiple mechanisms.