Antitumoral activity and in vivo toxicity of cnidoscolus quercifolius pohl (euphorbiaceae)

Ethnopharmacological relevance Cnidosculos quercifolius Pohl, commonly known as faveleira, is a plant widely used as a folk medicine used as phytotherapy. From the plant roots of this genus, some activity is reported in the literature as antioxidant potential, inhibition of cellular carcinogenic and antimicrobial agents, among others. Purpose: This work was designed to investigate the faveline rich fraction (FRF) obtained from the root bark for their acute toxicity when administered orally, in vivo antitumor activity evaluated in mice inoculated with sarcoma 180 tumor cells. To further investigate, to identify major chemical compounds in FRF by the HPLC method. Materials and methods: Therefore, acute toxicity study was investigated through oral administration of FRF in mice for 14 days and lethality was monitored daily, to verify if its administration could be considered safe, followed by the antitumor activity were performed against the experimental solid tumor Sarcoma 180 in Swiss albino mice, for 7 days. The identification of major chemical compounds in FRF was assessed by using a high-performance liquid chromatography-Diode Array detector (HPLC-DAD). Results: In the acute toxicity study, a single oral dose of FRF did not result in any behavioral changes or mortality, indicating nontoxicity. Biochemical assays showed differences in (AST, ALT), but no morphological changes were detected. In the HPLC fingerprints were obtained four peaks corresponding to four major faveline, as well as one single peak of coumarin. Conclusion: The results derived from in vivo antitumoral experiments, confirm the potential of faveline giving additional scientific support to the subjective use of Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl in traditional medicine to cancer treatment.