Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021 Apr 29;21(1):133. doi: 10.1186/s12906-021-03305-2.
Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is a spice and exhibits potent antioxidant and biological activities through distinct molecular mechanisms. However, the anticancer effect of cardamom was not explored yet in Ehrlich solid tumor (EST)-bearing mice.
This investigation was aimed to evaluate the anti-cancer effects of green cardamom (GCar) alone or combined with the anti-cancer drug cyclophosphamide in an in vivo model to explore its mechanistic role in tumor cell death in EST-bearing mice.
Ehrlich ascites tumor cells were injected in the mice and 5 days later the animals treated with GCar and/or cyclophosphamide for 10 days. Twenty-four hours from the last treatment, animals were sacrificed for the different measurements.
Data recorded for tumor size, percentage of tumor growth inhibition, tumor growth delay and mean survival time of EST-bearing mice demonstrated the effective role of GCar alone or combined with CPO as a promising anti-cancer agent because it reduced tumor size. GCar elevated the mean survival time of EST-bearing mice compared to that of untreated EST and EST + CPO groups. Analysis of qPCR mRNA gene and protein expression revealed that GCar alone or combined with CPO were promising anticancer agents. After the treatment of EST with GCar, the apoptotic-related genes and proteins were significantly modulated. GCar induced markedly significant decreases in oxidative stress biomarkers and a significant increment in glutathione levels and that of antioxidant enzymes. With a marked diminish in liver and kidney function biomarkers.
The results revealed that GCar could serve as an apoptotic stimulator agent, presenting a novel and potentially curative approach for cancer treatment, inducing fewer side effects than those of the commercially used anti-cancer drugs, such as CPO.
小豆蔻（Elettaria cardamomum）是一种香料，通过不同的分子机制表现出强大的抗氧化和生物活性。然而，小豆蔻在艾氏腹水瘤（EST）荷瘤小鼠中的抗癌作用尚未得到探索。
本研究旨在评估绿小豆蔻（GCar）单独或与抗癌药物环磷酰胺联合在体内模型中的抗癌作用，以探讨其在 EST 荷瘤小鼠肿瘤细胞死亡中的机制作用。
将艾氏腹水瘤细胞注射到小鼠体内，5 天后，用 GCar 和/或环磷酰胺治疗 10 天。末次治疗后 24 小时，处死动物进行不同的测量。
记录的肿瘤大小、肿瘤生长抑制百分比、肿瘤生长延迟和 EST 荷瘤小鼠的平均存活时间数据表明，GCar 单独或与 CPO 联合作为一种有前途的抗癌药物具有有效作用，因为它可以减小肿瘤体积。与未治疗的 EST 和 EST+CPO 组相比，GCar 提高了 EST 荷瘤小鼠的平均存活时间。qPCR mRNA 基因和蛋白表达分析表明，GCar 单独或与 CPO 联合是有前途的抗癌药物。在用 GCar 治疗 EST 后，凋亡相关基因和蛋白表达显著调节。GCar 可显著降低氧化应激生物标志物的水平，显著增加谷胱甘肽水平和抗氧化酶的水平，并显著降低肝肾功能生物标志物的水平。
研究结果表明，GCar 可以作为一种凋亡刺激剂，为癌症治疗提供一种新的、潜在的治疗方法，与环磷酰胺等商业上使用的抗癌药物相比，其副作用更少。
