Inhibition of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced tumor promotion and ornithine decarboxylase activity by quercetin: possible involvement of lipoxygenase inhibition.

Quercetin (30 mumol/mouse) markedly suppressed the effect of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA, 20 nmol/mouse) on skin tumor formation in the CD-1 mice initiated by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (200 nmol/mouse). TPA (20 nmol/mouse)-induced epidermal ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was also inhibited by quercetin (10-30 mumol/mouse), but it failed to inhibit the stimulation of epidermal DNA synthesis by TPA. In addition, quercetin potently inhibited lipoxygenase from 105 000 g supernatant of epidermal homogenate of mice. The 50% inhibition of lipoxygenase was observed by quercetin at 1.3 microM. These results suggest that the inhibition of lipoxygenase by quercetin is one of the major actions of the above agent to inhibit tumor promotion and TPA-induced ODC activity.