Medicinal Plants Sensitizes Colon Tissue to Apoptosis in a Rat Model of Colon Cancer

Abstract

BackgroundColon cancer is the leading global cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and various medicinal plants were used routinely to treat malignant cancers, including colon cancer. The chemotherapy is costly and leads to adverse reactions which may cause patient incompliance and deterioration of the quality of life, therefore there is a continuous need of natural therapeutic agents in the course of treatment and primary prevention of colon cancer.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to examine in vivo protective effects of five different medicinal plants (Rumex vesicarius, Oxalis corniculate, Pteropyrum scoparium, Moringa peregrine, and Caralluma arabica) in the activation of apoptosis of rat colon carcinogenesis induced by azoxymethane (AOM).MethodsAzoxymethane (AOM), a colon selective carcinogenic agent, was used to induce colon cancer in Sprague Dawley rats which were divided into 12 groups, n=10, (Control, AOM‐injected group and the other ten groups were fed ad‐libitum for 12 weeks a diet supplemented with a mixture of the one of the five different medicinal plants in the presence or absence of AOM injection). By the end of the experiment, all rats were sacrificed; colon tissues were excised and homogenized for biochemical measurements of: oxidative DNA damage, reduced glutathione, and total antioxidant capacity. Caspase‐3 cleavage, which has been considered as an apoptotic index, was detected using Western blotting techniques.ResultsOur results showed that the assayed medicinal plants have significantly reduced AOM‐induced colonic aberrant crypt foci development and AOM‐induced oxidative stress. Caspase‐3 cleavage, which has been considered as an apoptotic index, was almost undetectable in AOM‐treated rats, meanwhile the five medicinal plants exhibited pro‐apoptotic effects evidenced by increased levels of cleaved caspase‐3.ConclusionIn the studied model, our findings provide in vivo evidence that the medicinal plants are potent in inhibiting the early stages of colon carcinogenesis by preventing oxidative stress and inducing apoptosis. Our results highlight the importance use of these medicinal supplementation during chemotherapy as a synergistic factor in increasing therapeutic efficiency and increased survival times in colon cancer patients.Support or Funding InformationSultan Qaboos university, Internal Grant Funding (IG/AGR/Food/01/17)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.