Wenke G, Hoffmann D
Carcinogenesis. 1983;4(2):169-72. doi: 10.1093/carcin/4.2.169.
Betel quid chewing is strongly associated with cancer of the oral cavity. Extracts of betel quid are tumorigenic in the experimental animal, but thus far, not a single carcinogen has been detected in the tobacco free quid. This study is based on the hypothesis that during chewing, arecoline, the major alkaloid of the betel nut, gives rise to carcinogenic N-nitrosamines. In vitro experiments reported here have shown that N-nitrosation of arecoline leads to N-nitrosoguvacoline (NG), 3-(methylnitrosamino)propionitrile (MNPN) and 3-(methylnitrosoamino)propionaldehyde. Although, according to an earlier study. NG is most likely not carcinogenic, MNPN is suspected to be a relatively strong animal carcinogen based on bioassays with its lower homologue. The conditions prevailing in the oral cavity of betel quid chewers are likely to favor the formation of these three nitrosamines.
嚼食槟榔与口腔癌密切相关。槟榔提取物在实验动物中具有致瘤性，但迄今为止，在不含烟草的槟榔中尚未检测到单一的致癌物。本研究基于这样的假设：在咀嚼过程中，槟榔的主要生物碱槟榔碱会产生致癌性N-亚硝胺。本文报道的体外实验表明，槟榔碱的亚硝化作用会导致产生N-亚硝基古豆碱（NG）、3-（甲基亚硝基氨基）丙腈（MNPN）和3-（甲基亚硝基氨基）丙醛。尽管根据早期研究，NG很可能不具有致癌性，但基于对其较低同系物的生物测定，MNPN被怀疑是一种相对较强的动物致癌物。槟榔咀嚼者口腔中的环境条件可能有利于这三种亚硝胺的形成。
