Chemopreventive potential of diallylsulfide, lycopene and theaflavin during chemically induced colon carcinogenesis in rat colon through modulation of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase pathways.

Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer has become essential in the modern industrialized world as cancer of the large bowel has become one of the major causes of cancer mortality, second only to lung cancer. Colon cancer integrates lifestyle factors and multistep genetic alterations, and without preventive intervention, a substantial part of the population is likely to develop colorectal cancer at some point during their lives. Diet and nutrition clearly play a role in the etiology of colon cancer. Inhibitory activity of aqueous suspensions of garlic, tomato and black tea was tested on azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in Sprague-Dawley rats during earlier studies. In the present study, the protective activity of diallylsulfide and lycopene and theaflavin, important antioxidative ingredients of garlic, tomato and black tea, respectively, was assessed during colon carcinogenesis. The effect was observed on aberrant crypt foci, the preneoplastic lesion. As inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase activities is correlated with the prevention of colon cancer, the study continues with the determination of the change in the expression of these proteins. Following treatment, significant reduction in the incidences of aberrant crypt foci (by 43.65% in diallylsulfide, 57.39% in lycopene and 66.08% in theaflavin group) was observed, which was in accordance with the reduced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase. The effect of the intact source was found to be more pronounced than their components used separately.