Indican from Añil (Indigofera suffruticosa Miller) as an herbal protective agent to the liver.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the antitumor activity of mice bearing sarcoma 180 cell lines treated with indican of Indigofera suffruticosa and the histological and morphometric analysis on the liver of those animals. STUDY DESIGN: The mice were divided into 3 groups: Group 1 (G1) and Group 3 (G3) bearing sarcoma 180, and Group 2 (G2) without sarcoma 180. G1 and G2 (controls) were administered saline; G3 was treated with indican (25 mg/kg, i.p.). RESULTS: The purified indican after subchronic treatment did not significantly reduce the mean volume of sarcoma 180 when compared with control G1. HistopathologicaI and morphometric analysis of the liver of G2 and G3 did not show degenerated areas, compared to. G1 which showed pronounced destruction of the liver architectures. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the inhibition of solid tumor growth was not significant; however, the indican from leaves of I. suffruticosa preserved the liver architectures, suggesting its use as an alternative protective agent of the liver tissue.