CHEMOPREVENTIVE POTENTIAL OF CARALLUMA ADSCENDENS (ROXB.) AGAINST 1,2 DIMETHYL HYDRAZINE INDUCED COLON CARCINOGENESIS

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is increasingly common nowadays in Asian countries and still remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The chemopreventive and hypolipidemic effect of Caralluma adscendens (Roxb.), an edible succulent, was studied in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer. Rats were given a weekly subcutaneous injection of DMH (20 mg/kg body weight), a known colon carcinogen, in the groin for 16 weeks. Caralluma adscendens (Roxb.) (50 & 100 mg/kg body weight P.O.) was given at the initiation stage of carcinogenesis. The animals were sacrificed at the end of the experimental period of 30 weeks. The tissue lipid profile was evaluated using various biochemical estimations. The levels of cholesterol, HMG CoA reductase, free fatty acids, and triglycerides were significantly increased, whereas the levels of tissue phospholipids were decreased in DMH-treated rats as compared to control rats. On administering caralluma adscendens (Roxb.) at the initiation stage of colon carcinogenesis, the levels of tissue cholesterol, HMG CoA reductase, free fatty acids, triglycerides were significantly decreased, whereas the levels of phospholipids were increased as compared to unsupplemented DMH treated rats in dose dependent manner. Thus, Caralluma adscendens (Roxb.) supplementation was found to reduce the risk of colon cancer markedly by virtue of its hypolipidemic and antioxidative effects.