Potent antitumor and antineoplastic efficacy of baicalein on benzo(a)pyrene-induced experimental pulmonary tumorigenesis.

Current study aims to evaluate the efficacy of baicalein (BE), a naturally occurring bioactive flavanoid (5,6,7-trihydroxy-flavone), at a dose of 12 mg/kg body wt in Swiss albino mice exposed to tobacco-specific carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] (50 mg/kg body wt) for its ability to mitigate pulmonary adenoma formation and growth. Under coarse observation, B(a)P-administered mice, after 16 weeks, developed macroscopically detectable tumors, whereas oral treatment with BE to the lung cancer-induced mice significantly reduced tumor incidence in 16-week pre- and posttreated groups. A detailed histopathological examination of lung was conducted to determine the degree of cancer progression.

Silymarin downregulates COX-2 expression and attenuates hyperlipidemia during NDEA-induced rat hepatocellular carcinoma.

Silymarin is a naturally available bioflavonoid and is a strong antioxidant with a capacity to inhibit the formation of tumors in several cancer models. In the present study, we investigated whether dietary supplementation of silymarin has any role in lipid components, lipid-metabolizing enzymes, free fatty acid profile, and expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in rats. NDEA-induced rats showed severe hyperlipidemia along with upregulated expression of COX-2 as revealed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry.