Therapeutic Effect of Pomegranate (Punica granatum)Juice and Peel Water Extract on Colon Cancer in Experimentalrats

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the effect of pomegranate juice and peel water extract in preventing colon cancer in experimental rats. Twenty five female experimental rats(Sprague Dawley strain) were classified into fivegroups. Colon cancer was induced in all groups by Azoxymethane (AOM) dissolved in 0.9% NaCl, injected subcutaneously for 2 weeks at a dose of 20 mg/kg/week and treated with (5-FU) (12.5 mg/kg), except for Group 1 (normal control).The chemical composition, mineral content and antioxidants of pomegranate peel juice and extract were estimated. The results of the chemical analysis showed that pomegranate juice and peel extract contained moisture, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates, fiber, and minerals (Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu), antioxidants phenols (280.70,242.70 mg/100g) and flavonoids (186.90 , 51.52 mg/100 g) in the juice and peel extract, respectively. The results of the biological experiment of experimental rats groups treated with juice and peel water extractshowed asignificant increasein weight gain, food intake , feed efficiency ,blood hemoglobin (HB) , measurement of blood hematocrit (PCV) , Red blood cell counts (RBC) ,and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), decreasing anti-inflammatory enzyme (Cox-2) , Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and cytochrome P (cytoP450), while showed significant decrease in total Cholesterol (TC) and Triglycerides (TG) ,nitric oxide (NO) , Interleukin-1 (IL-1) , tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) compared with other positive groups(+ve). It can be recommend that consumption of pomegranate juice and peel water extract may be beneficial for those which suffering from colon cancer .