Abstract
Calligonum comosum (C. comosum) is an Egyptian desert plant that contains polyphenol antioxidants. The present study examined the chemopreventive effect of an extract of C. comosum in a rat model of hepatocarcinogenesis. Male Wistar rats (n=40) were administered 100 mg/kg diethylnitrosamine (DEN) by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection once a week for 3 weeks. Subsequently, depending on whether the rats received further administration of 0.8 mg/kg carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) i.p. once a week for 7 weeks and 100 mg/kg C. comosum extract in their diet for 7 weeks, the rats were divided into four groups as follows: Group 1, treatment with DEN alone; group 2, treatment with DEN and C. comosum extract; group 3, treatment with DEN and CCl4; and group 4, treatment with DEN, CCl4 and C. comosum extract. The supplementation of C. comosum extract significantly suppressed the elevation in serum liver enzyme levels, including aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase and γ-glutamyl transferase, and reduced the degree of oval cell proliferation induced by DEN and CCl4. In addition, C. comosum extract significantly decreased the number and area of glutathione S-transferase placental form-positive preneoplastic hepatic foci induced by DEN, with or without CCl4 treatment. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide definitive evidence of the hepatoprotective and chemopreventive effects of C. comosum.