Promising Phyto-Antioxidant Methanolic Extract from Canarium Odontophyllum Miq. (Dabai) Leaves against UVB Induced B164A5 Melanoma Cells as a Potential Skin Chemoprevention Agent

Abstract

The high incidence and mortality of skin cancer along with the development of chemotherapy resistance have urged researchers to look into alternative strategies to combat cancer. Chemoprevention is one of the well-researched strategies using natural products. Canarium odontophyllum Miq. (dabai) is a local seasonal fruit that is mainly found in Sarawak, Malaysia. The leaves of the fruit harbor many medicinal useful phytochemicals that provide a new insight for chemoprevention. The present research has been planned to study the chemopreventive activity of methanolic extract of C. odontophyllum Miq. leaves on UVB induced B164A5 melanoma cells through its antioxidant profiles. The extract displayed statistically significant (p<0.05) antioxidant activity by enhancing superoxide dismutase, SOD (1023.02 ± 106.74 U/mg protein) and catalase (0.12 ± 0.003 U/mg protein) activities compared to negative control. Low oxidative damage was also observed whereby the protein carbonyl and malondialdehyde levels were significantly reduced (p<0.05), 1.69 ± 0.296 nmol/mg protein and 1.181 ± 0.03 nmol/mg protein respectively. In conclusion, the extract exhibited a promising skin cancer chemoprevention activity through its significant antioxidant activities. These findings evidently pave the path for further investigations in chemoprevention strategy.