Lokesh Kumar Booupathy a, Sathishkumar Venkatachalam a,
Nandakumar Natarajan ^b, Rengarajan Thamaraiselvan ^c,
Madankumar Arumugam ^d, Balasubramanian Maruthaiveeran Periyasamy ^a,*

^a Department of Pharmacology and Environmental Toxicology, Dr. A.L. Mudhaliar Post Graduate Institute of Basic
Medical Sciences, University of Madras, Taramani Campus, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
^b Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the
Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
^c Department of Chemical Pathology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
^d Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sathyabama University, Jeppiaar Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

 

Colon cancer remains as a serious health problem around the world despite advances in diagnosis and treatment. Dietary fibers are considered to reduce the risk of colon cancer as they are converted to short chain fatty acids by the presence of anaerobic bacteria in the intestine, but imbalanced diet and high fat consumption may promote tumor formation at different sites, including the large bowel via increased bacterial enzymes activity. The present study was conducted to characterize the inhibitory action of myrtenal on bacterial enzymes and aberrant crypt foci (ACF). Experimental colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine is histologically, morphologically, and anatomically similar to human colonic epithelial neoplasm. Discrete microscopic mucosal lesions such as ACF and malignant tumors function as important biomarkers in the diagnosis of colon cancer. Methylene blue staining was carried out to visualize the impact of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine and myrtenal. Myrtenal-treated animals showed decreased levels of bacterial enzymes such as β-glucuronidase, β-glucosidase, and mucinase. Characteristic changes in the colon were noticed by inhibiting ACF formation in the colon. In conclusion, treatment with myrtenal provided altered pathophysiological condition in colon cancer-bearing animals with evidence of decreased crypt multiplicity and tumor progression.

 

Keywords: aberrant crypt foci, colon cancer, monoterpenes, myrtenal