Chemoprotective effect of Decalepis hamiltonii against cyclophosphamide induced toxicity

Cancer is a hyper-proliferative disorder that involves transformation, dysregulation of apoptosis, Proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis. The conventional methods to treat cancer are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy, being a major treatment modality used for the control of advanced stages of malignancies and as a prophylactic against possible metastasis, exhibits severe toxic side effects like diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, vomiting etc. Plants have been used for treating various diseases of human beings since time immemorial. In this study, methanolic extract of Decalepis hamiltonii was studied for its chemoprotective and antioxidant activity. Intraperitoneal administration of the extract significantly increased the total WBC count (3166 +/- 202 cells/cm2), bone marrow cellularity (680 +/- 70.1cells/femur), alpha-esterase positive cells (641 +/- 26.2 cells/4000 cells), Weights of organs such as a spleen and lungs, in Cyclophosphamide (CTX) treated animals when compared to control. D. hamiltonii administration significantly decreased the levels of Serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), Serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), creatinine and urea in serum and increased their levels in liver and kidney. Histopathological analysis of small intestine also suggests that extract could reduce the CTX induced intestinal damage. Analysis of the antioxidant status revealed that treatment with D. hamiltonii could significantly inhibit the free radical generation in vitro. Similarly in vivo studies using D. hamiltonii showed that the extract could significantly decrease the level of SOD in serum of the treated animals compared to control animals. In conclusion the finding of this study suggested that the extract from D. hamiltonii has strong chemo protective effect against CTX induced toxicity.