Anticancer Study of Myristica Fragrans Houtt. (Mace) Extract on 4-Nitroquinoline-1-Oxide-Induced Oral Cancer in Rats

Abstract

Objective: Oral cancer is the most common forms of malignancy diagnosed in men and women and the mortality rate is very high in the developing countries. Therefore, the study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of Myristica fragrans Houtt (mace) acetone extract (MAE) on experimentally induced oral cancer in rats. Methods:Oral cancer was experimentally induced to rats by administering 4NQO (carcinogenic agent) at a concentration of 30 ppm in drinking water and treated with three different doses of mace extract (100, 250, 500mg/kg body weight) dissolved in water and given orally as a single dose and another group treated with the standard 5-fluorouracil for 14 weeks.Results: All the experimental groups had an incremental weight gain, except NQO alone induced group showed body weight loss and also showed low survival rate denoting the NQO carcinogenic toxicity in them. The exophytic tumor volume showed gradual increase and reached 30 mm3 at the 14 weeks time point. Tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity values of mace extract treatment (100, 250, 500 mg/kg body weight) showed gradual reduction in the size of tumor significantly compared with that of the standard drug. The histopathological examination of oral tumor mucosal tissue illustrated well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in NQO induced group and also declining the risk of carcinoma changes in MAE treated groups. Conclusions:These experimental results unveil that MAE possesses effective role in curing oral cancer.