Journal of Ethnopharmacology 263 (2020) 113244 Available online 12 August 2020 0378-8741/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Effect of aqueous extracts of Ficus vogeliana Miq and Tieghemella africana Pierre in 7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene -induced skin cancer in rats Rick-L´ eonid Ngoua Meye Misso a, * , Fleury Augustin Nsole Biteghe b , C´ edric Sima Obiang a , Joseph-Privat Ondo a , Nan Gao c , Miguel Cervantes-Cervantes c , Guillaume Vignaux d , Aurelia Vergeade e , Jean Engohang-Ndong f , Hugue Ella Mendene g , Barthelemy Mabika h , F´ elix Ovono Abessolo g , Louis-Clement Obame Engonga a , Jean De La Croix Ndong d, i a Universite des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM), Department of Chemistry, Franceville, Gabon b Department of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical, 8700, Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, USA c Rutgers University School of Arts & Sciences, Federated Departments of Biological Sciences, Newark, NJ, USA d Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Federal, Arlington, VA, USA e Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA f Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, OH, USA g Universit´ e des Sciences de La Sant´ e, D´ epartement de Chimie et Biochimie, Libreville, Gabon h Universit´ e des Sciences de La Sant´ e, D´ epartement D’Anatomie Pathologie, Libreville, Gabon i New York University, School of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, New York, USA A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Skin cancer 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) Natural product Phytochemical Anti-cancer therapy Tieghemella africana and Ficus vogeliana ABSTRACT Ethnopharmacological relevance: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality. Tieghemella africana and Ficus vogeliana are used in traditional medicine to treat cancers. Aim of the study: Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant, antiangiogenic and anti- tumor activities of these plant extracts. Materials and methods: To achieve it, phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity and antiangiogenic activity were assessed. Thereafter, the anti-tumor activity was determined using skin tumorigenesis induced by 7,12- dimethylbenz[a]anthracene. Results: The phytochemical result analysis showed that both plant extracts were rich in polyphenols, alkaloids and terpene compounds and possessed good antioxidant activity based on DPPH radical scavenging (IC 50 = 9.70 μg/mL and 4.60 μg/mL and AAI values of 5.20 and 10.88) and strong total antioxidant capacity (115.44 VtCE (mg)/g of dry plant extract and 87.37 VtCE (mg)/g of dry plant extract, respectively). Additionally, both plant extracts possessed antiangiogenic activities (IC 50 = 53.43 μg/mL and 92.68 μg/mL, respectively), which corre- lated with signifcant antitumor activities when using 35 mg/kg (65.02% and 77.54%) and 70 mg/kg of extracts (81.07% and 88.18%). Conclusions: In summary, this study illustrates the promising usage of Tieghemella africana and Ficus vogeliana plant extracts in treating skin cancer. However, further characterization of the extracts must be performed to isolate the most active anticancer compound. 1. Introduction Skin cancers are the most common carcinoma in the world, mostly affecting fair skinned individuals (Linares et al., 2015; Brunssen et al., 2017). These cancers are among the most prevalent and may rapidly progress from benign to a metastatic phase. Skin cancers occur as two main types, non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSCs) comprising basal (BCC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of keratinocytes origin and mela- noma arising from pigment melanin producing cells called melanocytes (Linos et al., 2009; Xie et al., 2011). Despite the protective shielding action of melanin against solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), episodic exposure of fair skinned-individuals to acute or chronic, intense sunlight has the potential to cause skin cancer, directly through DNA damage via solar ultraviolet radiation B (UVRB) or indirectly through reactive ox- ygen species (ROS) formation post solar ultraviolet radiation A (UVRA) * Corresponding author. P.O. Box 943 Franceville, Gabon. E-mail addresses: ngouamartel@gmail.com, ngouamartel@univ-masuku.ga (R.-L. Ngoua Meye Misso). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Ethnopharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jethpharm https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113244 Received 31 May 2020; Received in revised form 1 August 2020; Accepted 3 August 2020