Abstract

Introduction: Skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer and is a serious concern to public health and the economy. Although, various treatment strategies are available but have several undesirable side effects. To combat these drawbacks, phytoconstituents or herbs can be the best choice. Uraria picta (prishniparni) is a potential herb used in various herbal formulations, important of which is Dasmularishta.

Methods: Thus, the present study aims to investigate the antioxidant and chemopreventive potential of U. picta root extract as an alternative for skin cancer prevention or treatment. The powdered plant material was successively extracted with petroleum ether, methanol, and water. The obtained methanol and aqueous extracts were studied for antioxidant activity via DPPH free radical scavenging assay using butylated hydroxytoluene as a standard. Both the extracts showed significant antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ values of 9.17 and 15.6 μg/mL, respectively while BHT had IC₅₀ value of 7.03 μg/mL. Female Swiss albino mice were selected for the study and randomly divided into 7 groups having 6 animals each. The skin carcinogenesis was induced using a single application of DMBA on dorsal shaved skin and promoted by applying croton oil twice weekly till the end of the study i.e. 16 weeks.

Results: Both the extracts showed the chemopreventive potential in a dose-dependent manner. The most significant activity was observed with the methanol extract at 400 mg/kg, p.o. dose. The present study showed significant antioxidant and antitumorigenic activity of the methanol extract of U. picta roots against chemical-induced skin papillomagenesis.

Conclusion: The precise mechanism of action and constituents responsible for the activity are still under further study.

Keywords: Chemoprevention, carcinogenesis, antioxidant, skin cancer, croton oil, prishniparni.