Analysis of Kras gene from induced pancreatic cancer rats administered with Momordicacharantia and Ocimumbasilicum leaf extracts

OBJECTIVE: To analyze K-ras gene from induced pancreatic cancer rats administered with Momordicacharantia and Ocimumbasilicum leaf extracts. METHODS: Twenty-five (25) adult rats weighing between 90–120 g were divided into 5 groups namely RA, RB, RC, NC and PC, each group had 5 rats. The PC which served as the control was fed with normal fish meal and water ad libitum; the NC which is the negative control received 20 mg/ml/week of Nitrosamines only while other groups received different concentrations of aqueous extract of both M.charantia and O.basilicum (200 mg, 100 mg, 50 mg) and Nitrosamine. Qualitative phytochemical screening of the aqueous extract of both M.charantia and O.basilicum was carried out. The extraction of DNA was done using Jena Bioscience DNA preparation kit and the protocol was based on the spin column based genomic DNA purification from blood, animal and plant cells. Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the K-ras gene extracted from the pancreas tissues of experimental rats while hematoxylinand eosin staining was used for histological assay. RESULTS: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins and glycosides in M.charantia while saponins, tannins and glycosides were discovered in O.basilicum. Significant reduction in the weight of rats treated with 200 mg of aqueous extracts of M.charantia and O.basilicum while rats that were dosed with nitrosamines only showed a slight increase in weight in the first three weeks when compared to the positive control. Histological studies revealed that there is both enlargement and reduction in the islet cell size, with one of the sections showing a normal islet cell size. While the agarose gel electrophoresis revealed that there may be possibility of prevention of damage to k-ras gene as a result of the effect of plants extract. CONCLUSION: This work has shown that the leaf extracts of both M.charantia and O.basilicum will serve as a measure against induced pancreatic cancer in rats.