Cancer chemoprevention by natural carotenoids and their related compounds

✍ Scribed by Hoyoku Nishino

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 350 KB
• Volume: 59
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-2312
• DOI: 10.1002/jcb.240590829

✦ Synopsis

As one of the most promising cancer chemopreventive agents, p-carotene has been studied extensively. However, other natural carotenoids have also suppressed tumorigenesis, and some are more potent than p-carotene. For example, a-carotene shows higher potency than p-carotene in suppressing tumorigenesis in mouse skin and lung models. In the two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis model (initiator, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene; promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate), topical application of a-carotene at a 200 nmol dose per painting twice a week significantly decreased the mean number of skin tumors per mouse. The greater potency of a-carotene over p-carotene in suppression of tumor promotion was confirmed in the two-stage mouse lung carcinogenesis model (initiator, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide; promoter, glycerol). Oral administration of a-carotene (0.05% in drinking water) significantly decreased the mean number of lung tumors per mouse. In contrast, p-carotene showed no suppression of lung tumor formation under the same experimental conditions. Fucoxanthin, a carotenoid as abundant in nature as p-carotene, was also found to have antitumorigenic activity in mouse skin and duodenum models. Thus, further studies on various natural carotenoids, other than p-carotene, should be carried out in the field of cancer chemoprevention.