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The effect of the aqueous extract of the roots of Asparagus racemosus on hepatocarcinogenesis initiated by diethylnitrosamine
Author(s) -
Agrawal Alka,
Sharma Meenakshi,
Rai Santosh Kumar,
Singh Bharat,
Tiwari Manisha,
Chandra Ramesh
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.2391
Subject(s) - asparagus racemosus , asparagus , aqueous extract , traditional medicine , chemistry , aqueous solution , oxidative stress , pharmacology , biochemistry , biology , medicine , botany , medicinal plants
Histopathological studies of the hepatic tissues of Wistar rats treated with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) (200 mg/kg b wt, i.p.) once a week for 2 weeks, followed by treatment with DDT, a tumor promoter (0.05% in diet) for 2 weeks and kept under observation for another 18 weeks, demonstrated the development of malignancy. Pretreatment of Wistar rats with the aqueous extract of the roots of Asparagus racemosus prevented the incidence of hepatocarcinogenesis. Immunohistochemical staining of the hepatic tissues of rats treated with DEN showed the presence of p53+ foci (clusters of cells expressing the mutated p53 protein), whereas an absence of p53+ foci was observed in Wistar rats pretreated with the aqueous extract of the roots of Asparagus racemosus . The microsections of the hepatic tissue of rats treated with DEN followed by treatment with the aqueous extract of Asparagus racemosus showed an absence of p53+ foci. The results of the biochemical determinations also show that pretreatment of Wistar rats with the aqueous extract of Asparagus racemosus leads to the amelioration of oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity brought about by treatment with DEN. These results prove that the aqueous extract of the roots of Asparagus racemosus has the potential to act as an effective formulation to prevent hepatocarcinogenesis induced by treatment with DEN. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.