Anti-breast cancer properties and toxicity of Dillenia suffruticosa root aqueous extract in BALB/c mice

Objective:To determine the anti-breast cancer activities and the safety oral consumption of Dillenia suffruticosa root aqueous extract(DRAE)in BALB/c mice.Methods:In the anti-breast cancer study,female BALB/c mice were divided into five groups(n=12),which were(1)positive control(with breast cancer,untreated),(2)negative control(without breast cancer,untreated)and other three groups of mice with breast cancer treated with 1 000,500 and 250 mg/kg of DRAE,respectively,by oral gavage for 28 days.All mice except from the negative control group were injected into the mammary fat pad with 4T1 cells(1×1054T1 cells/0.1 m L of phosphate buffer solution).DRAE was administered orally on Day 11 after the tumor has developed.Results:The tumor volume of the 1 000 mg/kg of DRAE group reduced significantly compared to the positive control while treatment with 500 mg/kg of DRAE had significantly inhibited metastasis to the heart.In the acute toxicity study,treatment with up to5 000 mg/kg of DRAE was not toxic to the animals,indicating its safety when a large amount of this plant extract was ingested.Based on the sub-acute toxicity study,treatment of the highest dose of DRAE(1 000 mg/kg)had mild liver toxicity indicated by mild focal hemorrhage.Conclusions:DRAE possesses anti-breast cancer properties but at the same time it shows mild toxicity to the liver.The non observable adverse effect dose for DRAE is500 mg/kg.