Lin J K, Wang C J
Carcinogenesis. 1986 Apr;7(4):595-9. doi: 10.1093/carcin/7.4.595.
Chemopreventive agents are compounds that inhibit carcinogenesis when administered prior or subsequent to a course of carcinogen administration. The effects of dietary administration of crocin dyes on the hepatic damage induced by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) in rats were investigated. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with different dosages of AFB1 (0.9 or 4.5 mg/kg) or DMN (8 or 20 mg/kg) by i.p. administration, and the different degrees of hepatic damage were revealed by the elevations of levels of serum marker enzymes such as aspartate amino-transferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and lactic dehydrogenase. Pre-treatment of the animals with crocin dyes 50 mg/kg daily for three consecutive days, the enzyme elevations were significantly suppressed. This suggested that the crocin dyes possessed chemopreventive effects on the early acute hepatic damage induced by AFB1 or DMN. Feeding experiments demonstrated that crocin dyes at 0.1% in the diet could suppress partially the chronic hepatic damage induced by multiple dosages of AFB1 or DMN, but at a higher concentration of 1% crocin dye failed to do so because of their host toxicity. Crocin dyes are extracted from the fruits of Gardenia jasminoides and consist of carotenoids and geniposides as active principles. The protective mechanisms of crocin dyes may be attributed to their carotenoids which are converted metabolically to retinoids in rats.
化学预防剂是在给予致癌物之前或之后给药时可抑制致癌作用的化合物。研究了日粮中藏红花素染料对黄曲霉毒素B1（AFB1）和二甲基亚硝胺（DMN）诱导的大鼠肝损伤的影响。通过腹腔注射给予雌性Sprague-Dawley大鼠不同剂量的AFB1（0.9或4.5 mg/kg）或DMN（8或20 mg/kg），血清标志物酶如天冬氨酸氨基转移酶、丙氨酸氨基转移酶、碱性磷酸酶、γ-谷氨酰转肽酶和乳酸脱氢酶水平的升高揭示了不同程度的肝损伤。动物连续三天每天用50 mg/kg藏红花素染料预处理，酶升高得到显著抑制。这表明藏红花素染料对AFB1或DMN诱导的早期急性肝损伤具有化学预防作用。喂养实验表明，日粮中0.1%的藏红花素染料可部分抑制多次剂量的AFB1或DMN诱导的慢性肝损伤，但1%的较高浓度藏红花素染料由于其宿主毒性而未能做到这一点。藏红花素染料从栀子果实中提取，由类胡萝卜素和栀子苷作为活性成分组成。藏红花素染料的保护机制可能归因于其类胡萝卜素，在大鼠体内可代谢转化为视黄醇。
