Synergistic anti-tumor effects of melatonin and PUFAs from walnuts in a murine mammary adenocarcinoma model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of some polyunsaturated fatty acids plus phytomelatonin from walnuts in the development of mammary gland adenocarcinoma.

Methods: BALB/c mice were fed a semisynthetic diet supplemented with either 6% walnut oil and 8% walnut flour containing phytomelatonin (walnut diet: WD); or 6% corn oil plus commercial melatonin (melatonin diet: MD), or the control group (CD), which received only 6% of corn oil. Membrane fatty acids of tumor cells (TCs) were analyzed by gas liquid chromatography, cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) derivatives, and plasma melatonin by high-performance liquid chromatography; apoptosis and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes by flow cytometry.

Effect of ω-3 and ω-9 fatty acid rich oils on lipoxygenases and cyclooxygenases enzymes and on the growth of a mammary adenocarcinoma model.

Background: Nutritional factors play a major role in cancer initiation and development. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have the ability to induce modifications in the activity of lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes that affect tumour growth. We studied the effect of two diets enriched in 6% Walnut and Peanut oils that are rich in ω-3 and ω9 PUFAs respectively on a murine mammary gland adenocarcinoma as compared with the control (C) that received commercial diet.