Chemopreventive effect of dietary curcumin on inflammation-induced colorectal carcinogenesis in mice

✍ Scribed by Isabel Villegas; Susana Sánchez-Fidalgo; Catalina Alarcón de la Lastra

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 280 KB
• Volume: 55
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1613-4125
• DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201000225

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Scope: Curcumin is a polyphenol with a variety of pharmacologic effects. We evaluate the effect of dietary curcumin on the severity of repeated colitis‐associated colorectal cancer.

Methods and results: Six‐week‐old C57BL/6 mice were randomized into two dietary groups: standard diet and curcumin at 0.6% diet. The mice were exposed to 15 cycles of 0.7% dextran sodium sulphate for 1 week followed by distilled water for 10 days. After curcumin diet, the disease activity index presented a statistical reduction in the last cycles, macroscopic tumors were not seen and the microscopic study showed minor neoplasic lesions with respect to standard diet‐group. β‐Catenin translocation to the cytoplasm and/or nucleus was observed in the tumor tissue, but this translocation and its intensity were significantly minor in the curcumin diet‐DSS animals. Cytokines as tumor necrosis factor‐α and IFN‐γ were significantly diminished in DSS‐animals fed with curcumin. Conversely, non‐modification of p53 expression was observed and cyclo‐oxygenase‐2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were significantly reduced in the curcumin diet‐DSS group.

Conclusion: We demonstrate the protective/preventive effect of curcumin in the progression of colorectal cancer associated to colitis, which was correlated with a lowered immunoreactivity of ß‐catenin, a non‐modification of p53 expression, a reduction of proinflammatory cytokine levels and a decrease of inflammatory protein overexpression.