title: In vivo growth inhibitory effect of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) on a transplantable mouse tumor, Sarcoma 180.
abstract: Withania somnifera is a medicinal plant used in the treatment of a variety of ailments in the Ayurvedic system. Alcoholic extract of the root of the plant was injected(ip) at daily doses of 200 to 1000 mg/kg body wt for 15 days starting from 24 hr after intradermal inoculation of 5 x 10(5) cells of S-180 in BALB/c mice. Solid tumor growth was monitored for 100 days. Doses of 400 mg/kg and above produced complete regression of tumor after an initial growth, the percentage of complete response (CR) increasing with increasing drug dose. A 55% CR was obtained at 1000 mg/kg drug administration, but this dose also produced some mortality among the animals. A significant increase in the volume doubling time and growth delay was seen when the drug dose was increased from 500 to 750 mg/kg body wt, but further increase in drug dose to 1000 mg/kg did not produce any significant increase in these responses. Cumulative doses of 7.5 to 10 g at daily doses of 500 or 750 mg/kg seems to produce a good response in this tumor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiobiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India.
authors.forename: P U
authors.initials: PU
authors.lastname: Devi
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sharada
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kamath
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D012074:Remission Induction; D012510:Sarcoma 180 / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts