St. John's Wort Attenuates Colorectal Carcinogenesis in Mice through Suppression of Inflammatory Signaling.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the chemopreventive potential of St. John's Wort extract against colorectal carcinogenesis in mice.
Results Summary
SJW extract improved survival, reduced tumor multiplicity, and attenuated proinflammatory pathways (NF-κB and ERK1/2) in mice treated with azoxymethane. The effects were dose-dependent and observed in both short-term and long-term treatment regimens.
Population
Azoxymethane-treated mice (animal model for colorectal carcinogenesis).
Effective Dosage
Not specified in the abstract.
Duration
Not specified in the abstract (short-term and long-term regimens mentioned).
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | increase | overall survival | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | significantly improve | #1 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | body weight loss | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | significantly reduced | #2 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | serum albumin levels | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | decrease | #3 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | serum cholesterol levels | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | decrease | #4 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | tumor multiplicity | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | significant decrease | #5 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | incidence of large tumors | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | decrease | #6 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | total tumor volume | azoxymethane-treated mice | - | trend toward decreased | #7 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract-supplemented diet | decrease | colorectal polyps | mice | - | decrease | #8 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract | decrease | Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway | - | - | attenuated | #9 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract | decrease | extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) pathway | - | - | attenuated | #10 |
St. John's wort (SJW) extract | decrease | these pathways | colon epithelium of SJW diet-fed mice | - | early and continuous attenuation | #11 |
Despite widespread use as well as epidemiologic indications, there have been no investigations into the effect of St. John's wort (SJW) extract on colorectal carcinogenesis in vivo. This study reports a systematic evaluation of the impact of dietary supplementation of SJW extract on azoxymethane-induced colorectal carcinogenesis in mice. Mice were fed with either AIN-93G (control) diet or SJW extract-supplemented diet (SJW diet) prior to azoxymethane treatment. SJW diet was found to significantly improve the overall survival of azoxymethane-treated mice. Pretreatment with the SJW diet significantly reduced body weight loss as well as decrease of serum albumin and cholesterol levels associated with azoxymethane-induced colorectal tumorigenesis. SJW diet-fed mice showed a significant decrease in tumor multiplicity along with a decrease in incidence of large tumors and a trend toward decreased total tumor volume in a dose-dependent manner. A short-term study, which examined the effect of SJW prior to rectal bleeding, also showed decrease in colorectal polyps in SJW diet-fed mice. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) pathways were attenuated by SJW administration. SJW extract resulted in early and continuous attenuation of these pathways in the colon epithelium of SJW diet-fed mice under both short-term and long-term treatment regimens. In conclusion, this study demonstrated the chemopreventive potential of SJW extract against colorectal cancer through attenuation of proinflammatory processes.