Effect of plumbagin on the radiation induced cytogenetic and cell cycle changes in mouse Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo.

The effect of plumbagin, a naphthoquinone from the roots of the Indian medicinal plant Plumbago rosea, and Cobalt-60 gamma radiation was studied on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in vivo, taking cytogenetic damage and cell cycle changes as experimental endpoints. Plumbagin (5 mg/kg body wt, P1) administered intraperitoneally produced a significant increase in the percentage of S-phase as well as G2-M cells with a corresponding decrease in the G1 phase at different post-treatment times. Radiation (7.5 Gy, RT) alone produced the classical G2 block at 1 hr, which persisted with a continuous increase throughout the post-treatment observation period. The combination treatment produced a similar effect as that of RT on G2-M cells, but its effect on the G1 phase was more pronounced than the latter. While P1 treatment produced a small increase in the percentage of labeled S-phase cells, combination treatment significantly reduced the labeled S-phase cells with a corresponding increase in the unlabeled fraction. Drug or radiation alone significantly increased micronuclei induction at various post-treatment times and the combination of the two further enhanced this effect additively. The mechanism of interaction of P1 with radiation in bringing about this effect is not clear.