Effects of Spirulina platensis extract on Syrian hamster cheek pouch mucosa painted with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene.

Research into cancer prevention seeks to identify the preventable causes of cancer, and to reduce cancer incidence by effective implementation of preventative strategies in target populations. In this study, 30 male golden Syrian hamsters were divided into three equal groups; the right buccal pouches of the hamster rats in group one were painted with 0.5% solution of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), three times a week, until sacrificed. The same pouches of group two were also painted with DMBA, but received an additional 10mg/daily Spirulina platensis extract, which was added to the soft diet supplements during the same period. The hamster rats in group three received neither DMBA nor S. platensis extract. They were painted with saline and served as control animals. Half the hamsters from each of the three groups were sacrificed by ether inhalation after 7 weeks, and the remaining half were sacrificed after 14 weeks. The required buccal pouches were surgically excised and prepared for regular H&E and argyrophilic proteins of the nuclear organizer regions (AgNOR) silver staining. AgNORs counting and statistical analysis were carried out. We observed moderate dysplastic changes extending into the midspinous layer in group one 7 weeks after DMBA painting, which reached to half the thickness of the hyperplastic epithelium after 14 weeks. However, in group two, mild dysplastic changes were observed after 7 weeks, which were restricted to the basilar and parabasilar layers of the epithelium after 14 weeks of treatment. AgNOR staining in group one produced AgNOR counts ranging from one to seven dots per nucleus, whereas the counts were one or two dots per nucleus in group two. The AgNOR mean number in groups one, two and three was (3.1+/-0.006, 1.3+/-0.003 and 1.2+/-0.003, respectively). Moreover, with one sample t-test, a significant difference was found in AgNOR mean number between groups one and two, groups one and three and between groups two and three (P<0.05). An overall significant difference among the three groups (P<0.01) was indicated with one-way analysis of variance. The pAgNOR was 10% in group one, 5% in group two and 4% in group three. Consequently, S. platensis is an adjunctive means to inhibit the dysplastic changes occurring in the hamster cheek pouch (HCP) mucosa. However, more research is needed to expand its beneficial action.