Chemotherapeutic effect of Berberis integerrima hydroalcoholic extract on colon cancer development in the 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine rat model.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a Berberis integerrima hydroalcoholic extract as a chemotherapeutic agent in colon carcinogenesis in the rat induced by 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine (DMH). Male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: a negative control group without DMH treatment; a control group injected DMH (20 mg/kg b.w); two groups receiving B. integerrima extract (50 and 100 mg/kg b.w), concomitant with injected DMH, as chemotherapeutic groups; a positive control group receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) along with DMH. The effects of the extracts were determined by assessment of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), and the activities of hepatic glutathione S-transferase and cytochrome P450 (GST and CYP450). Additionally, colon tissues were assessed for colonic β-catenin and histopathological analysis. In DMH-treated rats, the extracts partially normalized the levels of FRAP, CYP450, β-catenin, and GST. Likewise, formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in colon tissue of DMH-treated was reduced by the extracts. Thus, the extracts possess chemotherapeutic activity against colon carcinogenesis.