Bavachinin mitigates DMH induced colon cancer in rats by altering p53/Bcl2/BAX signaling associated with apoptosis

ABSTRACT

Bavachinin is a flavanone obtained from the Chinese herb, Fructus Psoraleae. Flavonoids and flavanones are recognized as cancer preventive agents. We investigated the anticancer properties of bavachinin using a model of dimethylhydrazine (DMH and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induced rat colon cancer. We investigated aberrant crypt foci (ACF), hyperplastic lesions, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GST) levels in Wistar rats. Expression of cancer biomarkers including IL-6, p53, Bcl2 and BAX was investigated. We found that bavachinin administered to rats re-established the colonic crypts that were damaged by DMH and prevented progression of the cancer.

KEYWORDS:

• Apoptosis
• bavachinin
• cancer
• colon
• dimethylhydrazine
• flavanone
• Fructus Psoraleae
• p53/Bcl2/BAX signaling
• rats

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.