Shebbo Salima, El Joumaa Manal, Kawach Rawan, Borjac Jamilah
Department of Biological Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Debbieh, Lebanon.
Heliyon. 2020 Jun 1;6(6):e04082. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04082. eCollection 2020 Jun.
Dimethylhydrazine (DMH) is a potent colonic and hepatic carcinogen that is metabolized into oxyradicals causing liver injury and DNA mutations. is a well-documented medicinal herb that possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antitumor activities and is commonly used to treat diverse ailments. The present study aimed to reveal the hepatoprotective effects of aqueous extract during an intermediate stage of colorectal cancer (CRC) in mice. Male Balb/c mice were divided into six groups: group A served as control, group B received chamomile extract (150 mg/Kg b.w.) orally for 12 weeks, and groups C-F received weekly intraperitoneal injections of DMH (20 mg/Kg b.w.) once a week for 12 weeks. In addition to DMH, groups D and F received chamomile during the initiation and post-initiation stages, respectively. Blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical and molecular analyses. The results showed that DMH induced hepatic injury in mice as shown by significant increase in serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase. The changes in biochemical parameters were accompanied by activation of the Wnt signaling pathway leading to increased hepatocytes proliferation as well as inflammation evidenced by high levels of pro-inflammatory enzymes cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The results also showed potential hepatoprotective effects of chamomile extract against DMH-induced liver injury, proliferation and inflammation. Chamomile restored the biochemical and molecular parameters and this improvement was more pronounced in mice pretreated with the extract. In conclusion, chamomile extract may exert its hepatoprotective activities against DMH probably due to the antioxidant, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties of its flavonoids.
二甲基肼（DMH）是一种强效的结肠和肝脏致癌物，可代谢为氧自由基，导致肝损伤和DNA突变。洋甘菊是一种有充分文献记载的药草，具有抗炎、抗氧化和抗肿瘤活性，常用于治疗各种疾病。本研究旨在揭示洋甘菊水提取物在小鼠结直肠癌（CRC）中期的肝脏保护作用。雄性Balb/c小鼠分为六组：A组作为对照组，B组口服洋甘菊提取物（150 mg/Kg体重），持续12周，C-F组每周腹腔注射DMH（20 mg/Kg体重），共12周。除DMH外，D组和F组分别在起始阶段和起始后阶段给予洋甘菊。采集血液和肝脏样本进行生化和分子分析。结果表明，DMH诱导小鼠肝损伤，血清天冬氨酸转氨酶和丙氨酸转氨酶显著升高。生化参数的变化伴随着Wnt信号通路的激活，导致肝细胞增殖增加以及炎症反应，表现为促炎酶环氧合酶2（COX-2）和诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）水平升高。结果还表明，洋甘菊提取物对DMH诱导的肝损伤、增殖和炎症具有潜在的肝脏保护作用。洋甘菊恢复了生化和分子参数，这种改善在预先用提取物处理的小鼠中更为明显。总之，洋甘菊提取物可能因其黄酮类化合物的抗氧化、抗增殖和抗炎特性而对DMH发挥肝脏保护作用。
