Abstract

Background/Objective: Although cabbage and its sulforaphane (Sul) contents have chemo-preventive effect against cancer, little attention was given to their mechanism of action. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of Sul on Ehrlich’s solid tumor in mice. Methods: Mice were randomly divided into the following 6 groups (15 mice each): the normal control group (Nor), the Ehrlich group (E), the Sul-treated groups on day 0 [E + Sul (0)] and on day 7 [E + Sul (7)] orally received Sul (50 mg/Kg), methotrexate (MTX)-treated groups on day 0 [E + MTX (0)] and day 7 [E + MTX (70)] injected intraperitoneally by MTX (1.25 mg/Kg), on day 0 and day 7 of Ehrlich tumor cells implantation . Results: Our results revealed antitumor effect for Sul via, at least in part, induction of apoptosis (revealed by increased DNA fragmentation and decreased expression of the apoptotic modulator plectin) and reduction of oxidative stress (indicated by low level of lipid peroxidation marker, MDA, and high level of total antioxidant capacity in tumor tissue). Administration of Sul at day 0 of Ehrlich xenografts gave better results than when giving 7 days post-xenografting, but both effects were weaker than that of the standard anticancer drug, MTX. Conclusion: This may be the first study to report that Sul antitumor effect is associated with downregulation of the apoptosis regulatory protein, plectin. The results of this study suggest that Sul could be used as an adjuvant to anticancer drug or as a chemo-preventive agent against cancer.

Key words: Sulforaphane; Ehrlich solid tumor; DNA fragmentation, Plectin, Oxidative stress