Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) inhibits mouse colon tumor in mouse CT-26 cells allograft model in vivo

Our earlier studies showed that DATS induced apoptosis in human colon cancer HT29 and colo 205 cell lines in vitro. However, there is no report to show that DATS induced apoptosis in vitro and inhibited CT26 cancer cells in vivo on a murine allograft animal model. In vitro studies, the results indicated that DATS induced morphological changes and induction of apoptosis in CT26 cells. In vivo studies, CT26 cancer cells were implanted into BALB/c mice and groups of mice were treated with vehicle, DATS (10 and 50 mg/kg of body weight). DATS were injected once per four days intraperitoneally (i.p.), with treatment starting 4 weeks prior to cells inoculation. Treatment with vehicle or with 10 and 50 mg/kg of DATS resulted in a reduction in tumor volume and weight. Tumor volume and total hemoglobin in allograft mice treated with 50 mg/kg DATS were significantly smaller than that in the control group. These findings indicated that DATS inhibits tumor growth in an allograft animal model. Thus, DATS may represent a colon cancer preventive agent and can be used in the future.