Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to examine the chemopreventive effects of phloretin against 7, 12-dimethylbenz (a) anthracene (DMBA) induced buccal pouch carcinogenesis in male golden Syrian hamsters in order to discover resources to improve the traditional medicine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hamsters were divided into four groups of 10 animals each. Group I was served as an untreated control. Group II hamsters were painted with 0.5% DMBA in liquid paraffin on the left buccal pouches three times a week for 14 weeks. Group III hamsters were orally administrated with phloretin at a dose of 40 mg/kg body Weight (b.wt) on days alternate to DMBA application. Group IV hamsters were orally administrated with phloretin alone and served as the drug control. The experiment was terminated at the end of fourteenth week. The experimental animal's tumors were subjected into morphological examination and subsequently screened the pathological changes and estimate the activities of bi-products of lipid peroxidation, antioxidants enzymes and phase I and II detoxification enzyme status. RESULTS: In DMBA alone treated hamster showed increased levels of lipid peroxidation by products, leads to decreased levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants status, activities of phase I and II detoxification enzyme status were altered. Normalized the neoplastic changes, decreased the levels of lipid by products, retain the antioxidants and restored the phase I and II enzymes were observed in phloretin administrated animals during DMBA induced oral carcinogenesis. CONCLUSION: Phloretin has possible chemopreventive role in which modulating the antioxidant and detoxification enzyme status, thereby retarding DMBA induced buccal pouch carcinogenesis.