Studies from our laboratory have indicated
skin cancer chemopreventive effectsof
sandalwood oil in CD-1 mice. The purpose of this investigation was to study the
skin cancer chemopreventive effects of alpha-
santalol, a principal component of
sandalwood oil in CD-1 and SENCAR mice. alpha-
Santalol was isolated from
sandalwood oil by distillation under vacuum and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Chemopreventive effects of alpha-
santalol were determined during initiation and promotion phase in female CD-1 and SENCAR mice.
Carcinogenesis was initiated with
7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The effects of alpha-
santalol treatment on TPA-induced epidermal
ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and (3)H-thymidine incorporation in epidermal
DNA of CD-1 and SENCAR mice were also investigated. alpha-
Santalol treatment during promotion phase delayed the
papilloma development by 2 weeks in both CD-1 and SENCAR strains of mice. alpha-
Santalol treatment during promotion phase significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the
papilloma incidence and multiplicity when compared with control and treatment during initiation phase during 20 weeks of promotion in both CD-1 and SENCAR strains of mice. alpha-
Santalol treatment resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) inhibition in TPA-induced ODC activity and incorporation of (3)H-thymidine in
DNA in the epidermis of both strains of mice. alpha-
Santalol significantly prevents
papilloma development during promotion phase of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-TPA
carcinogenesis protocol in both CD-1 and SENCAR mice, possibly by inhibiting TPA-induced ODC activity and
DNA synthesis. alpha-
Santalol could be an effective chemopreventive agent for
skin cancer. Additional experimental and clinical studies are needed to investigate the chemopreventive effect of alpha-
santalol in
skin cancer.