Adjuvant chemoprevention of experimental cancer: catechin and dietary turmeric in forestomach and oral cancer models.

Catechin and dietary turmeric (Curcuma longa) were used as chemopreventive agents in benzo[a]pyrene induced forestomach tumors in Swiss mice and methyl-(acetoxymethyl)-nitrosamine induced oral mucosal tumors in Syrian golden hamsters. Catechin in drinking water and dietary turmeric significantly inhibited the tumor burden and tumor incidence in both tumor models. The induction of oral tumors in golden hamsters was delayed by catechin and dietary turmeric. Adjuvant chemoprevention utilising both catechin and dietary turmeric inhibited both the gross tumor yield and burden more effectively than when compared to individual components in both tumor models. A single i.p. injection of catechin to male Swiss mice induced increased forestomach and hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity when compared to controls. These findings suggest that catechin and turmeric which are regularly consumed natural products, are effective in mice or golden hamsters as chemopreventive agents.