Background & Objective: The Physalis alkekengi is a herbaceous plant belonging to Solanaceae family. According to research, this plant can help inhibit cancer cell growth.
Materials & Methods: In this study, the extract of Physalis alkekengi was used to suppress angiogenesis in Balb/c mice. First, the MC4L2 cells were injected in the mice breastbone and the tumor began to grow in this area, then the mice were killed and the tumor removed from the mice and inserted in the test mice by surgical technique. Then, the mice were gavaged for 3 weeks at 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg daily Physalis alkekengi extract, and then the mice were killed and their tumor tissue removed, and tumor growth, apoptotic cell tissue and expression of VEGF gene were studied.
Results: The results of this study showed that the hydroalcholic extract of Physalis alkekengi had a significant effect on tumor growth reduction in experimental groups 2 (50mg/kg body weight) and 3 (100 mg/kg) compared to the control group. Also, the results of the apoptotic cell in tissue showed that the extract of Physalis alkekengi significantly induced apoptotic and necrotic cells in experimental groups in comparison with the control group. The results of RT- PCR showed that the expression of VEGF gene in the experimental groups (50 mg/kg body weight) was significantly (P <0.001) less than that of the control group.
Conclusion: In the end, it was concluded that the extract of the Physalis alkekengi has anti-tumor properties and can be considered as an anti-cancer drug in future clinical studies.