A review of the anticancer activity of Azadirachta indica (Neem) in oral cancer

Abstract

Background: Azadirachta indica (neem), belongs to the family of Meliaceae plants, is found in the Indian subcontinent. The neem tree is colloquially referred to as the village pharmacy due to its array of biological properties. Every part of the neem tree like its bark, leaves, sap, fruit, seeds, and twigs find a multitude of uses. It is customary to use them for management of skin diseases and various other infections. The anticancer properties of neem have been studied in the past and these include its ability to modulate the tumour environment, increase the cytotoxic ability of host monocytes and suppress the proliferation of tumour cells. The present review was conducted with the objective of scrutinizing and assimilating data about the usefulness Azadirachta indica in oral cancer from all the previously done work. Material and methods: A planned review was conducted of all the studies that investigated the role of Azadirachta indica in oral cancer. Literature search was carried out using PubMed, Scopus and Google scholar databases. In addition to electronic searching, hand searching, cross referencing and various internet engines were also used to collect data. The articles were perused and articles not pertinent to our search were omitted. Results and conclusion: The anticancer properties of neem were evaluated and the active constituents of neem have been demonstrated to unequivocally have preventive and therapeutic potential against oral cancer. Although, greater exploration of the anticancer properties of neem are required in order to effectively integrate it into the routine management of oral cancer.

Kirenol regulates the cell proliferative and inflammatory markers in DMBA‐induced oral squamous cell carcinogenesis in hamster

“…PCNA (proliferating cellular nucleic antigen) protein and it is identified their expression pattern are the main mechanism of all carcinoma, has major role in proliferation process acts as cell proliferative marker. PCNA expression pattern leaked higher amount in oral tissues particular literatures found expressed in oral cancer 28 . Up regulation of PCNA by treatment kirenol with DMBA painted hamsters proceeded to suppress cell multiplication and their communications by cell cycle arrest, this supports suggested that kirenol prevent the tumor formation oral administered in DMBA induced hamsters by cell cycle arrest.…”

Plant-Based Antioxidant Extracts and Compounds in the Management of Oral Cancer

“…G1/S phase cell cycle arrest is associated with autophagy cell death following apoptosis [ 53 ]. Aqueous neem leaf extract is reported to have chemopreventive effects by regulating the enzymatic breakdown of glutathione in the oral mucosa [ 54 ].…”

“…Nimbolide is a type of limonoid derived from Azadirachta indica (neem tree) that inhibits the proliferation of carcinogenic cells by inducing apoptosis. The aqueous extract of neem leaves regulates the enzymatic breakdown of glutathione and thereby exerts an anticarcinogenic effect in the oral mucosa [ 54 ]. In a recent study, the chemopreventive use of nimbolide against SCC4 and EAhy926 oral cancer cell lines was analysed.…”

Terpenoids from Azadirachta indica are potent inhibitors of Akt: Validation of the anticancer potentials in hepatocellular carcinoma in male Wistar rats

“…They have also been reported to demonstrate inhibition of Akt protein and modulation of the Akt/mTOR pathway (Nitulescu et al, 2018;Srivastav et al, 2020). The anti-neoplastic properties of Azadirachta indica (neem) have been reported (Agrawal et al, 2020), it is been shown to modulate the tumor microenvironments, attenuate the proliferation of tumor cells (Agrawal et al, 2020).…”