Title:Kolaviron Ameliorates 7, 12-Dimethylbenzanthracene - Induced Mammary Damage
Volume: 22
Issue: 1
Author(s): Rabiatu B. Suleiman, Aliyu Muhammad*, Ismaila A. Umara, Mohammed A. Ibrahima, Ochuko L. Erukainure, Gilead E. Forcados and Sanusi B. Katsayal
Affiliation:
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
Keywords:
7, 12-Dimethylbenzanthracene, mammary neoplasia, hypersialylation, kolaviron, chemoprevention, ER-α.
Abstract: Background: Kolaviron (KV) is a flavonoid-rich portion obtained from Garcinia kola seeds with a
number of reported pharmacological effects. However, its ameliorative effects on 7,12-Dimethylbenzanthracene
(DMBA)-induced mammary damage has not been fully investigated, despite the reported use of the seeds in the
treatment of inflammatory related disorders.
Objective: To evaluate the ameliorative effects of KV on DMBA-induced mammary damage in female Wistar
rats.
Methods: Forty-nine (49) female Wistar rats were randomly assigned into seven groups of seven rats each.
DMBA was administered orally to rats in five of the groups as a single dose of 80 mg/kg body wt while the
remaining two groups received the vehicle. The rats were palpated weekly for 3 months to monitor tumor
formation. After 3 months of DMBA administration, 1 ml of blood was collected to assay for estrogen receptor-
α (ER-α) level. Thereafter, the vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide) was daily administered to the negative control and
positive control groups for the 14 days duration of the experiment while three groups were each given a daily oral
dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body wt of KV for the duration of the experiment. The last DMBA-induced
group received 10 mg/kg body wt of the standard drug tamoxifen twice a week, and the remaining DMBA-free
group received 200 mg/kg body wt KV. Subsequently, the animals were humanely sacrificed, and ER-α, sialic
acids, sialidase, sialyltransferase levels were assayed in blood and mammary tissues followed by
histopathological examinations.
Results: Significantly higher levels of estrogen receptor-α (ER-α), formation of lobular neoplastic cells, epithelial
hyperplasia, lymphocyte infiltration, and increased sialylation were detected in DMBA-induced rats. Treatment
with KV at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight resulted in a significant (p<0.05) decrease in ER-α level, free
serum sialic acid (21.1%), the total sialic acid level of the mammary tissue (21.57%), sialyltransferase activity
(30.83%) as well as mRNA level of the sialyltransferase gene (ST3Gal1) were observed after KV interventions.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that KV could be further explored in targeting DMBA-induced mammary
damage implicated in mammary carcinogenesis.
