Oral administration of monogalactosyl diacylglycerol from spinach inhibits colon tumor growth in mice

• Published in: Experimental and therapeutic medicine Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 17 - 22
• Main Authors: MAEDA, NAOKI, KOKAI, YASUO, HADA, TAKAHIKO, YOSHIDA, HIROMI, MIZUSHINA, YOSHIYUKI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece D.A. Spandidos 01.01.2013; Spandidos Publications UK Ltd
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; anti-proliferation; antitumor; Apoptosis; Cancer; Cell growth; Colorectal cancer; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA polymerase; Fatty acids; Glycerol; Laboratory animals; Mitochondrial DNA; monogalactosyl diacylglycerol; Rodents; Spinach; Studies; Tumors; γ-cyclodextrin; Japan
• ISSN: 1792-0981; 1792-1015
• DOI: 10.3892/etm.2012.792

Previously, we observed that purified monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG), a major glycoglycerolipid from spinach, selectively inhibits the activities of mammalian replicative DNA polymerases (α, δ and ε). However, the function of MGDG following ingestion is not well-known. In the present study, spinach MGDG suppressed the proliferation of Colon26 mouse colon cancer cells with an LD50 of 24 μg/ml in vitro. γ-cyclodextrin (CD)-MGDG complex was prepared and administered orally following Colon26 mouse tumor adhesion for 26 days. It was observed that 20 mg/kg equivalent (eq.) of the CD-MGDG complex reduced tumor volume by ∼60% compared with that of the vehicle-treated controls. In immunohistochemical analysis, the CD-MGDG complex group showed a decreased number of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells and reduction of mitosis in the tumor cells compared with the control group. In addition, the CD-MGDG complex increased the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive apoptotic cells and inhibited CD31-positive tumor blood vessel growth significantly. These results suggest that MGDG has the potential for cancer prevention and health promotion.