Modulation of CYP1A1, CYP1B1 and DNA adducts level by green and white tea in Balb/c mice.

In the current investigation the ameliorative effect of 2% extract of green tea (GT) and white tea (WT) against benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) induced toxicity and DNA damage has been studied in liver and lung of Balb/c mice (8 animals per group). The activities of phase I enzymes such as 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase (PROD) were found to be increased (p<0.05) both in liver and lung of BaP treated (125 mg/kg b.w. orally) group. The enhanced activities of EROD and PROD were inhibited in group that received pretreatment with GT and WT for 35 days. Pretreatment with GT and WT also elevated (p<0.05) the level of detoxifying enzymes such as glutathione S-transferase (GST) and quinone reductase (QR) in both the tissues. The BaPDE-DNA adducts level reflected the decreasing pattern from BaP treated group to the groups that received pretreatment with GT and WT. BaP exposure induced drastic alterations in the morphology of erythrocytes, pretreatment of GT and WT to BaP administered groups showed reduced alteration in topography of erythrocytes. WT elucidate greater efficacy in ameliorating BaP toxicity, but further long term studies are required to validate white tea as a cancer chemopreventive agent.