Antiangiogenic Activity of Sweet Almond (Prunus dulcis) Oil Alone and in Combination with Aspirin in both in vivo and in vitro Assays.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis is the new blood vessel formation that is necessary for certain physiological and pathological conditions. Sweet almond (Prunus dulcis) oil is used as adjuvant therapy for a variety of health issues. Due to its high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids, it can prevent the formation of angiogenesis in a tumour. Also, aspirin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that significantly reduces the angiogenesis of cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The study was aimed at investigating the effects of sweet almond oil alone and in combination with aspirin on angiogenesis.

METHODS: Male Sprague Dawley rats aged 12 to 14 weeks were used for the study. Oil was extracted from sweet almond seeds and was serially diluted. The ex vivo rat aorta ring assay was employed to investigate the antiangiogenic effect of sweet almond oil. An in vivo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay was used to quantify the zone of inhibition of blood vessels by sweet almond oil. The zone of inhibition was measured as the mean inhibition area of a blood vessel on eggs in mm±standard deviation. An acute toxicity study of sweet almond oil was conducted using the lethal dose 50 test. The data obtained were statistically analysed.

RESULTS: The results revealed that when compared to the negative control, the serial concentration dose-response has a significant inhibition effect on blood vessel growth. The dose-dependent percentage of inhibition and sweet almond oil in combination with aspirin has a synergistic effect on the inhibition of blood vessel growth as a measure of the antiangiogenic activity.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the activity of sweet almond oil with aspirin synergism can greatly lower blood vessel growth in rat aorta rings and CAM assays. Sweet almond oil has an inhibitory effect on cancer and can be utilized as an antiangiogenic agent.