Anticancer Potential of Michelia champaca Linn. Bark Against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) Cells in Swiss Albino Mice

Background: Adverse side effects of currently available therapies against cancer, leads scientists to find effective compounds from natural sources. Objective: In the present study, stem-bark of Mycelia champaca is subjected to evaluate its antiproliferative effect against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cells. To date, the anti-proliferative effects of M. champaca bark extract against EAC cell line has not been reported elsewhere. Therefore, we intended to investigate the anti-proliferative potential of M. champaca bark extract against EAC cells in vivo. Methods: In vivo anticancer activity was evaluated against EAC cells bearing Swiss albino mice by monitoring parameters such as tumor cell proliferation, tumor weight measurement, and survival time, etc. The mechanism of EAC killing was examined by observation of cell morphology and analysis the expression of certain cancer-related genes. In vitro antioxidant potentiality was determined in terms of several common antioxidant assays. In addition, total phenolic and flavonoids contents were measured to ensure the presence of phytochemicals. Results: M. champaca bark extract showed strong antioxidant activities which were found to be strongly correlated (P<0.001) with phenolics and flavonoids contents. Furthermore, it was found that bark extract decreased tumor cell proliferation (77.46%; P<0.01), tumor weight (42.13%; P<0.001) and increased life span of tumor-bearing mice (71.97%; P<0.01) at the dose of 250mg/kg (intraperitoneal; i.p.). M. champaca bark also altered the depleted hematological parameters such as red blood cell, white blood cell, hemoglobin (Hb%) towards normal in tumor bearing mice. In addition, upregulation of p53, Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2 followed by treatment indicated M. champaca bark could induce apoptosis of EAC cells. Conclusion: These results indicated that MEMCB possesses significant cytotoxic activities against EAC cells and has a strong in vitro antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the bark of M. champaca could be considered as a potential resource of anti-cancer agents, which might be used to formulate effective anticancer drugs.