Inhibitory effects of flavonol glycosides on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced tumor promotion.

The two-stage carcinogenesis by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in mice was inhibited by kaempferol and flavonol glycosides, whereas naringenin, a flavanone, had no effect. The induction of epidermal ornithine decarboxylase activity by TPA was also inhibited by kaempferol, whereas mauritianin, a kaempferol glycoside, failed to inhibit it. In addition, the effect of the flavonol glycosides on cell-mediated immunosuppression in the two-stage carcinogenesis, observed in terms of initiation after 14 weeks, was antagonized by mauritianin and myricitrin. Cell-mediated immunosuppression in the two-stage carcinogenesis was unaffected by kaempferol and naringenin. These results suggest that the inhibitory effects of flavonol glycosides may have been at least partly due to activation of immune responses against tumors.