• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.839-845
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• 2009

Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignant neoplasm in the world. Much attention has been focused on reducing colon cancer risk through medical properties of natural compound that could act as anticarcinogens. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant and antigenotoxic effects of Styela plicata (S. plicata) from in vitro experiments. S. plicata extracts showed antioxidant activity measured by TRAP assay and antigenotoxic effect in $200{\mu}M$ $H_2O_2$ induced DNA damage in human leukocytes. Especially, freeze-dried S. plicata extracted with methanol showed the highest level of TRAP (0.225 mM) and inhibition of DNA damage (66.8%). Additionally we observed the effect of S. plicata on the formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) induced by dimethylhydrazine (DMH) and DMH induced DNA damage (by comet assay) in male SD rats. The animals were divided into three groups and fed high-fat and low fiber diet (100 g lard+20 g cellulose/kg diet) without (normal control and DMH control) or with a 3% (w/w) of lyophilized S. plicata powder (DMH+S. plicata). One week after beginning the diets, rats were treated with DMH (30 mg/kg, s.c.) for 6 weeks except for normal control group, which was treated saline instead; dietary treatments were continued for the entire experiment. Nine weeks after DMH injection, administration of S. plicata resulted in reduction of ACF numbers, to 82.7% of the carcinogen control value ($7.67{\pm}2.04$ vs. $1.33{\pm}0.53$: p<0.01). S. plicata supplementation induced antigenotoxic effect on DMH-induced DNA damage in the blood cell (% tail intensity: $6.79{\pm}0.26$ vs. $6.13{\pm}0.22$). These data indicate that S. plicata extract has antigenotoxic and anticarcinogenic effects from in vitro experiments and S. plicata exerts a protective effect on the process of colon carcinogenesis, possibly by suppressing the DMH-induced DNA damage in blood cell and the development of preneoplastic lesions in colon.