Cancer; breast; dimethyl benzanthracene; Arrabidaea chica; vincristine; Animal model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Arrabidaea chica (crajiru) extract, native plant of the Amazon, on a dimethyl benzanthracene-induced mammary carcinoma (DMBA) model in Wistar rats. Method: The response of mammary carcinoma to the injected A. chica stratum (EAC) v.o. for 16 weeks, whether or not associated with vincristine. Groups of experimental design: normal control; DMBA group without treatment; EAC-treated DMBA (300 mg / kg); DMBA + Vincristine group injected i.p. 500µg / kg; DMBA + EAC + Vincristine 250µg / kg. Imaging using microPET and fluorescence, biochemistry, oxidative stress, hematology and histopathology were used to validate the treatments. Results: All animals survived. There was a gradual weight gain in all groups for 16 weeks, with no significant difference between them (p> 0.05). The injection v.o. EAC and EAC + vincristine 50% significantly reduced (p <0.001) the incidence of breast tumors examined with PET-18FDG and fluorescence. Significantly reduced serum transaminases, oxidative stress and haematological toxicity. Antioxidant enzyme levels in the breast tissue were significantly higher compared to the DMBA and DMBA + vincristine groups. Conclusion: These results clearly demonstrate for the first time that A. chica extract exerts herbal efficacy in a DMBA-induced breast cancer model, suppressing abnormal cell proliferation and inducing reduction of chemotherapy toxicity and oxidative stress. A. chica extract may have clinical implication and be developed as a drug to reduce mortality and mitigate the toxicity of chemotherapy for breast cancer.