Determination of the Antineoplastic Activivity of Berberine Isolated from Tinospora cordifolia in Swiss Albino Mice Transplanted with Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma

Natural products have attracted the attention of humans for healthcare since time immemorial. The anticancer activity of berberine chloride (BCL), an alkaloid isolated from the dichloromethane extract of Tinospora cordifolia, was studied in mice transplanted with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) by injecting 10mg/kg BCL on 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 or 15 days, (stage I, II, III, IV, V and VI) after EAC inoculation. The data analysis revealed that maximum tumor free survivors (58.3%) at 30 days were observed in mice receiving BCL on second day of tumorization. The administration of BCL on day 3 and 4 after tumor inoculation also increased the tumor free survivors at 30 days. Despite this increase in survival, no long term survivors (>60 days) could be reported at any of the stages evaluated. The BCL treatment was more effective than cyclophosphamide, the positive control, which was effective only at stage I and II, however, the number of tumor free survivors on day 30 was lesser than the BCL treatment. The analysis of lipid peroxidation and GSH contents in EAC cells showed a time dependent depletion in the GSH activity up to 9h post-treatment and a marginal elevation thereafter. This depletion in GSH was accompanied by a drastic elevation in lipid peroxidation with a maximum rise at 9h post-treatment and a gradual decline thereafter. Our study demonstrates that BCL treatment caused tumor regression and increased tumor free survival by reducing the GSH concentration and increasing the lipid peroxidation.