Toxicology and Pharmacology

Biography

Biography: Aied Mohammed Alabsi

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide and the 5-year survival rate of around 50% has not improved significantly during the past 30 years. New approaches to treat the disease are urgently needed. Chemotherapy in combination with anticancer agents derived from natural products offer a promising new approach in an attempt to improve patient prognosis. Ficus deltoidea is a common medicinal plant traditionally used in Southeast Asia countries including Malaysia. Previous studies demonstrated that Ficus deltoidea has a wide variety of medical importance including antibacterial, antithrombotic and anticancer. This study was conducted to determine the chemo-preventive effects of Ficus deltoidea on OSCC cells by using rat animal model. The powder of Ficus deltoidea in this study was extracted with methanol using macerated methods. The evaluation the Ficus deltoidea chemo-preventive activity in vivo was carried out using 4NQO-animal model. 35 SD rats were divided randomly into 5 groups of seven rats per each. Four groups were supplied with 4NQO (20 ppm) in their drinking water for 8 weeks. Ficus deltoidea methanol extract groups were administered orally to the rats starting one week before exposure to the carcinogen (4NQO) until one week after the stop of the carcinogen exposure (total of 10 consecutive weeks of administration). The results obtained showed that no significant decrease in mean body weight gain was seen in Ficus deltoidea methanol extract especially at dose 1000 mg/kg. The incidence of SCC induced by 4NQO in rats receiving Ficus deltoidea methanol extract at 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg was 35.9%, 25.6% and 10.3%, respectively and developed smaller tumors (tumor volume) than vehicle and induced cancer groups. The results of this study indicate that specific extracts of Ficus deltoidea have promise to be developed as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of OSCC.