Modulatory effect of Gynandropsis gynandra L. on glucose metabolizing enzymes in aflatoxin B1-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats.

The modulation of glucose-metabolizing enzymes activities play a vital role in the depletion of energy metabolism and leads to inhibition of cancer growth. In the present study, the effect of Gynandropsis gynandra L. extract on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was studied on glucose-metabolizing enzymes in rats. A significant increase (p < 0.001) in the activities of the key glycolytic enzymes viz., hexokinase and phosphoglucoisomerase, with a significant decrease (p < 0.001) in the gluconeogenic enzymes glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase were observed in HCC-bearing rats, when compared with the control. Administration of G. gynandra extract caused a significant decrease in the activities of glycolytic enzymes and an increase in the gluconeogenic enzymes activities to near normal values. Thus, findings suggest the G. gynandra extract has a definite modulating role on the key enzymes of glucose metabolism in HCC. The modulatory effect may be due to the phytoactive constituents present in the extract of G. gynandra.