Abstract
To investigate the possible modulating role of "Nigella sativa" (NS), a plant commonly used in Egyptian traditional medicine, on premalignant perturbations in three glycol-regulatory enzymes in an experimental rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Thirty-six (36) male albino rats were divided into four groups (n = 9). Group 1 served as a normal control, group 2 was treated with methanolic extract of Nigella sativa (MENS) (1 g/kg/day, orally) for 14 weeks, group 3 received a single intraperitoneal dose of diethyl nitrosamine (DENA) (200 mg/kg), followed 2 weeks later by a subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4), 3 ml/kg/week/6 weeks) and group IV was treated with MENS for 2 weeks prior to administration of the carcinogenic combination (DENA + CCl(4), as in group 3) until the end of the experiment. The total period of the experiment was 14 weeks. In the DENA + CCl(4)-treated group, there was a significant increase in the relative liver weight, serum alpha fetoprotein level and the activities of hexokinase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase in both the serum and liver homogenate; this was accompanied by a subsequent decrease in body weight. Pre-treatment with MENS significantly maintained these parameters close to the normal condition. Based on these results, we conclude that MENS has a chemo-preventive effect against the progression into liver malignancy through its modulation of the energy metabolic pathways (i.e. glycolysis) that may be involved in hepatocarcinogenesis.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and the most common primary cancer of hepatocytes [1, 2]
Group 1 served as a normal control, group 2 was treated with methanolic extract of Nigella sativa (MENS) (1 g/kg/day, orally) for 14 weeks, group 3 received a single intraperitoneal dose of diethyl nitrosamine (DENA) (200 mg/kg), followed 2 weeks later by a subcutaneous injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4, 3 ml/kg/week/6 weeks) and group IV was treated with MENS for 2 weeks prior to administration of the carcinogenic combination (DENA ? CCl4, as in group 3) until the end of the experiment
In the DENA ? CCl4-treated group, there was a significant increase in the relative liver weight, serum alpha fetoprotein level and the activities of hexokinase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose 6
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide and the most common primary cancer of hepatocytes [1, 2]. The incidence of HCC has increased sharply in the last decade, especially in Egypt, where there has been a doubling of the incidence rate during the last 10 years. This sharp rise has been attributed to several biological (e.g. hepatitis B and C virus infection) and environmental factors (e.g. aflatoxin), but many other factors, such as cigarette smoking, occupational exposure to chemicals (e.g. pesticides) and endemic infections in the community (e.g. To investigate the possible modulating role of ‘‘Nigella sativa’’ (NS), a plant commonly used in Egyptian traditional medicine, on premalignant perturbations in three glycol-regulatory enzymes in an experimental rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
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