Polyamine levels in various tissues of rats treated with 3-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic acid and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid.

The effects of 3-hydroxy-4-methoxycinnamic acid (3H4MCA) and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid (3,4DMCA) on body weight, organ weight, and the contents of putrescine, spermidine and spermine in 15 different tissues were examined in rats that had been given these compounds for 5 days. In 3H4MCA-treated rats, the weight of the spleen was significantly increased, while none of the other organs showed any significant changes. A diet containing either 3H4MCA or 3,4DMCA should not be taken by patients bearing cancers in the seminal vesicles, spleen or liver, and a diet containing 3,4DMCA should not be taken by patients bearing cancers in the testis, kidney, muscle, small intestine or brain (cortex) because of the significant increases in polyamines, which are associated with a risk of cancer growth, in these tissues. However, a diet containing 3H4MCA is recommended for the management of cancers in the skeletal muscle (femoral), tongue, small intestine (jejunum), stomach, lung and brain based on reductions in polyamines which stimulate tumor growth. A diet containing 3,4DMCA is also recommended for cancer in the prostate, thymus and stomach for the same reason. In addition, a synergic therapeutic effect for the treatment of cancers in these tissues may be anticipated by a combination of such a diet with anti-cancer drugs which reduce polyamine levels. The metastasis of cancers in these tissues may also be inhibited by the reduction of polyamines by these acids. The ratio of spermidine to spermine was significantly higher in the lung of 3H4MCA-treated rats, and lower in the seminal vesicle, thymus, kidney, heart, tongue, stomach and lung of 3,4DMCA-treated rats, than in control rats. The present experiment indicated that cancer patients should pay careful attention to endogenous polyamines in tissues bearing tumors induced by chemicals in ingesta and anti-cancer drugs, in addition to exogenous polyamines.