The Role of Cydonia oblonga, Portulaca oleracea, and Artemisia dracunculus on Hypoxia

Background: hypoxia exists in some malignancies and is a prognostic risk factor contributing to tumor growth and metastasis. anti-hypoxic compounds may improve this situation and be considered as anti-cancer agents. in previous reports, cydonia oblonga, portulaca oleracea, and artemisia dracunculus showed anti-cancer activities. so, we investigated the anti-hypoxic activities of c. oblonga, p. oleracea, and a. dracunculus to evaluate the possible mechanism of their effectiveness in treating cancer. methods: total phenolic and flavonoid contents and hplc analysis were performed on c. oblonga leaves, p. oleracea, and a. dracunculus aerial parts extract. anti-hypoxic activities were evaluated in asphyctic, haemic, and circulatory hypoxia models. results: a. dracunculus extract (at 250 mg/kg) significantly improved the survival time compared to the normal saline (p < 0.0001) in asphyctic hypoxia, even its effect was significantly better than phenytoin in this dose (p = 0.0005). although the extracts increased the survival time in other doses, their effects were not significant (p > 0.05). in haemic hypoxia, the extracts were ineffective at any dose (p > 0.05). at 250 mg/kg, p. oleracea and a. dracunculus significantly increased the survival time (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively) in circulatory hypoxia. their effects were similar to propranolol (p > 0.05). conclusion: the anti-cancer effects of c. oblonga are not dependent on the anti-hypoxic effects. p. oleracea and a. dracunculus have anti-hypoxic effects only in high doses, indicating their extracts’ weak anti-hypoxic ability or the presence of potent anti-hypoxic compounds with low concentrations in them.