Protective potentials of a potentized homeopathic drug, Lycopodium-30, in ameliorating azo dye induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice.

Abstract

The protective potentials of a potentized homeopathic drug, Lycopodium-30, prepared from extract of spores of a plant, Lyocopodium clavatum (Fam: Lycopodiaceae) and used as a remedy for various liver ailments, have been tested in mice chronically fed p-dimethyl amino azo benzene (p-DAB) - an initiator, and phenobarbital (PB) - a promoter of hepatic cancer, by using some cytogenetic endpoints like chromosome aberrations (CA), micronuclei (MN), mitotic index (MI) and sperm head abnormality (SHA), and toxicity biomarkers like acid and alkaline phosphatases (AcP and AlkP, respectively), alanine and aspartate amino transferases (ALT and AST, respectively) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reduced glutathione (GSH) activities. The effects of chronic treatment of the carcinogens were assessed at different intervals of fixation, namely, at day 7, 15, 30, 60, 90 and day 120, and compared with that of mice fed conjointly with the carcinogens and the homeopathic remedy. Both the assay systems indicated considerable protective potentials of the homeopathic remedy against p-DAB induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice.

• Authors: Surajit Pathak, Jayanta Kumar Das, Surjyo Jyoti Biswas, Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh
• Journal: Molecular and cellular biochemistry (Mol Cell Biochem) Vol. 285 Issue 1-2 Pg. 121-31 (Apr 2006) ISSN: 0300-8177 [Print] Netherlands
• PMID: 16538399 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• Materia Medica
• Plant Extracts
• Protective Agents
• p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene
• Phenobarbital

Topics

• Animals
• Biomarkers, Tumor (analysis)
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (chemically induced)
• Lipid Peroxidation (drug effects)
• Liver (enzymology)
• Lycopodium
• Male
• Materia Medica (pharmacology)
• Mice
• Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective (chemically induced)
• Phenobarbital
• Plant Extracts (pharmacology)
• Protective Agents (pharmacology)
• Sperm Head (drug effects)
• Spermatozoa (abnormalities)
• Spleen (enzymology)
• p-Dimethylaminoazobenzene