Abstract
Objective: This study was carried out to investigate the protective effect of an aqueous extract, from the garden snail Helix aspersa (Mollusca, pulmonate), against N-nitrosomethylurea (NMU) induced damage in mice. Methods: Haematoxylin/ Eosin based histology was performed to evaluate the morphological changes in liver and spleen. Results: our results show that NMU causes different damages in liver and spleen. It induces alterations of blood system of the two organs with the apparition of hemangioma. The histological assessment shows that H. aspersa extract markedly reduces the damage induced by the carcinogen and preserved the histo-architecture of these tissues. Furthermore, histopathological finding demonstrates that H. aspersa extract increase immune system activity through the stimulation of immune cell penetration in liver and differentiation of macrophages into foreign body giant cells. Conclusion: These results suggest that H. aspersa extract acts as a potent hepatic and spleen protective agent against NMU carcinogenesis.
Highlights
N-Nitroso compounds were known almost 40 years ago to be present in food treated with sodium nitrite, which made fish meal hepatotoxic to animals through formation of nitrosodimethylamine
This study was carried out to investigate the protective effect of an aqueous extract, from the garden snail Helix aspersa (Mollusca, pulmonate), against N-nitrosomethylurea (NMU) induced damage in mice
These results suggest that H. aspersa extract acts as a potent hepatic and spleen protective agent against NMU carcinogenesis
Summary
N-Nitroso compounds were known almost 40 years ago to be present in food treated with sodium nitrite, which made fish meal hepatotoxic to animals through formation of nitrosodimethylamine. Nitroso compounds can be divided into two main subclasses, nitrosamines and nitrosamides (Singer and Kusmierek, 1982), which are both capable of inducing alkylating DNA damage by the formation of a highly reactive diazonium ion (Mirvish, 1995;Tricker and Preussmann, 1991). Experimental and epidemiological data suggest that human is susceptible to carcinogenesis by nitroso compounds. The presence of these compounds in food constitutes an etiological risk factor involved in different kinds of cancer like esophagus, stomach, nasophaynx and other sites (Kim et al, 2013; Mirvish, 2013)
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