Luteolin supplementation adjacent to aspirin treatment reduced dimethylhydrazine-induced experimental colon carcinogenesis in rats.

Previous studies have shown that aspirin is used in colon cancer treatment. However, long-term of Aspirin usage is limited to gastric and renal toxicity. Luteolin (LUT) has cancer prevention and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of LUT supplementation and Aspirin treatment in dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced carcinogenesis in rats. DMH (20 mg/kg BW/week) treated rats received gavages with Aspirin (50 mg/kg BW/week) and LUT (0.2 mg/kg BW/day) for 15 weeks. DMH injections induce colon polyps and renal bleeding, significantly increasing carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), oxidative stress, and kidney function tests and reducing antioxidant markers. Either Aspirin or LUT gavages alone or combined produce a significant decrease in colon polyp number and size, significantly decreasing CEA, COX-2, and oxidative stress and increasing antioxidant markers. In conclusion, the supplementations of LUT adjacent to Aspirin in the treatment of DMH-induced carcinogenesis in rats reflect a better effect than the use of Aspirin alone.