Prevention of liver cancer by standardized extract of Melissa officinalis L. in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma: Its potential role as a chemopreventive agent

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignancy of the liver and the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Melissa officinalis L. (M. officinalis L.), known as lemon balm is a medicinal plant, which has a wide range of pharmacological properties. This study was aimed to assess the chemopreventive effect of aqueous extract of M. officinalis (AMO) against diethyl nitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats. Methods and Results: The model of hepatocellular carcinoma was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of DEN (200 mg/kg) as an initiator and after two weeks was followed by daily oral administration of 2-acetylaminofluorene (30 mg/kg) as a promoter for two weeks. Lemon balm-treated rats were pretreated with AMO intragastrically at three different doses two weeks prior to DEN injection. At the end of the experiment, the marked reduction of serum biomarkers of liver damage and cancer, including alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) were observed in AMO complemented rats compared to DEN-treated animals. Furthermore, the extract exhibited in vivo antioxidant activity by elevating GSH concentration and preventing lipid peroxidation in the liver tissues of HCC rats. The relative weight of liver was also reduced in lemon balm-treated rats as a prognostic marker in HCC. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that M. officinalis has a chemopreventive effect against HCC in rats and can be suggested as a potential agent for the prevention of primary liver cancer. &nbsp

Antioxidant and chemopreventive effects of Asperugo procumbens in a rat model of hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cancer is the fifth most common malignancy, with 0.25–1 million new cases diagnosed annually worldwide. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant and chemopreventive effects of aqueous extract of Asperugo procumbens L. (AAP) against diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in rats. Methods and Results: The model of hepatocellular carcinoma was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of DEN (200 mg/kg) as an initiator that after two weeks followed by daily oral administration of 2-acetylaminofluorene (30 mg/kg) as a promoter for two weeks. AAP-treated rats were pretreated with the extract intragastrically at three different doses two weeks prior to DEN injection. At the end of the experiment, the marked reduction of serum biomarkers of liver damage and cancer, including alfa-fetoprotein (AFP), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) were observed in AAP complemented rats as compared to DEN-treated animals. Besides, the extract exhibited in vivo antioxidant activity that evident by increasing GSH concentration along with lipid peroxidation prevention in the liver tissues of HCC animals. In addition, A. procumbens showed in vitro free radical scavenging activity that determined by 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picryl hydroxyl (DPPH) antioxidant assay. The relative weight of liver was also reduced in AAP-treaded rats as a prognostic marker in HCC. Conclusions: Our results obviously confirmed that A. procumbens possesses a chemopreventive effect against primary liver cancer induced by DEN in rats as well as  in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities