Effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Berberis vulgaris L. fruit on the amount of angiogenesis in the chorioallantoic membrane of chicken embryos

Cancer, which is characterized by irregular cell metabolism and the development of metastasis risk, is still a significant risk and life-threatening. Although there are several unique advantages for cancer treatment, some problems, such as poor drug targeting efficacy, increased tumor hypoxia, severe coronary syndromes, excessive ventricular conduction, and drug-induced drug resistance, have emerged in recent years. Chemotherapy and increased risk of tumor metastasis have limited their potential clinical use.

In this experimental study, a total of 36 embryonic eggs were randomly selected. Then, four treatments, including control, 40, 80, and 120 µg/ml hydroalcoholic extract of Berberis vulgaris (B. vulgaris) fruit, and nine replications were tested. On the third day of incubation, the eggs were exposed to an open window, and on the eighth day, the experimental groups were treated with 40, 80, and 120 µg/ml alcoholic extract of B. vulgaris fruit, which was collected from Qaen city in South Khorasan Province, Iran. On the 12th day, the chorioallantoic membrane of all samples was photographed using a photo stereomicroscope, the numbers/diameters of vascular branches were measured using the Image J software (1.46r), and the resulting data were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 22) and the least significant difference (LSD) test (P≤0.01)

The mean number of vessels in the experimental groups was equal to (6.23+0.81) and (22.89+0.81), which indicated a significant dose-dependent reduction compared to the mean number of vessels measured in the control group (15.73+0.29) and (53.87+2.07) (P=0.003).

The use of the hydroalcoholic extract of B. vulgaris in three doses of 40, 80, and 120 µg/ml can reduce the number of branches and the diameter of vessels in the chorioallantoic membrane of chicken embryos, which indicates the process of angiogenesis inhibition.