Effect of Berberis vulgaris fruit extract on alpha-fetoprotein gene expression and chemical carcinogen metabolizing enzymes activities in hepatocarcinogenesis rats

Objective: Cancer is the second cause of death worldwide, among them liver cancer is the fifth most important malignancy. The aim of this study was to investigate chemopreventive activity of Berberis vulgaris fruit extract in hepatocarcinogenesis Sprague dawley rats.

Materials and Methods: Fourty-four Sprague dawley rats (6-8 weeks old, 150-250 g) were divided into normal and cancerous. The rats in cancerous groups induced cancer by intraperitoneally injection of 200mg/kg diethylnitrosamine (DEN) follow by acetyllaminofluorene (0.02%AAF) dissolved in corn oil. Animals in each branch were randomly assigned to receive either no treatment or 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg of Berberis vulgaris fruit. The animals were sacrificed after 11 weeks of treatment and evaluated for liver enzyme activities. In addition, Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to identify the expression of genes encoding markers in hepatocytes (albumin, α-fetoprotein).

Results: The activities of GGT, GST and ALP between the Cancerous and Normal groups were significantly different (P< 0.05). In cancerous groups treated with Berberis vulgaris, the enzymes activities of GST, GGT and ALP were significantly lower than control group (P< 0.05). RT-PCR as a very sensitive method did not show gene expression of AFP in cancer groups treated with Berberis vulgaris fruit.

Conclusion: Berberis vulgaris fruit can reduce the activity of liver enzymes and inhibit the gene expression of AFP in rats during hepatocarcinogenesis. These results suggest the chemopreventive activity of Berberis vulgaris fruit against hepatocarcinogenesis in animal models.