Assessment of the antiproliferative potential of Cissampelos owariensis (P. Beauv) methanolic extract in Wistar rats

Cissampelos owariensis is a medicinal plant with a wide range of therapeutic uses.  In this study, the objective was to further assess its antiproliferative potential using cell proliferation and tumor suppressor markers. Solvent extraction of C. owariensis leaves was done using methanol. Twenty (20) male albino Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups 1–4 (n=5) and respectively administered with methanolic extracts of C. owariensis at 0, 100, 300 and 500 mg/kg for 30 days. After treatment, the hepatic tissues were processed and examined histologically and immunohistochemically for cell proliferation (Ki-67) and tumor suppressor (p53) proteins.  Immunoexpression of the proteins was quantified using image-J software, the data analyzed with SPSS version 20 and values compared using t-test and one-way analysis of variance. The histological results showed no significant variation in hepatic histomorphology of treated Groups 2–4 relative to non-treated Group 1. However, the immunohistochemical results showed significant (p< 0.05) down-regulation in Ki-67 protein expression and a concomitant significant (p< 0.05) up-regulation in p53 protein expression in hepatic tissues of treated Groups 2–4 relative to non-treated Group 1.These inverse expression patterns of cell proliferation and tumor suppressor proteins following exposure to methanolic extracts of C. owariensis may suggest the antiproliferative potential of the plant extracts.