Oral supplementation with troxerutin (trihydroxyethylrutin), modulates lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced rat colon carcinogenesis

• 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine (DMH) is a colon-specific pro-carcinogen.
• Troxerutin acts as a free radical quencher.
• Troxerutin supplementation effectively modulates oxidative stress markers thereby playing a substantial role in growth inhibition.
• Troxerutin more efficiently inhibited the formation of polyps and inflammatory response, which exerts chemopreventive effect of troxerutin.
• Consumption of troxerutin in the diet could prevent early organ damage.

The present study was aimed to investigate the chemopreventive potential of troxerutin on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) induced rat colon carcinogenesis by evaluating the antioxidant and lipid peroxidation (LPO) status. Rats were randomly divided into six groups. Group I rats served as control. Group II rats received troxerutin (50 mg/kg b.w., p.o.) for 16 weeks. Groups III–VI rats received subcutaneous injections of DMH (20 mg/kg b.w., s.c.) once a week, for the first 4 weeks. In addition to DMH, groups IV–VI rats received troxerutin at the doses of 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg b.w., respectively. In DMH treated rats, our results showed decreased activities of antioxidants and increased levels of LPO in the liver. Moreover, LPO and antioxidants in the colon were found to be significantly diminished in DMH the treated rats. Furthermore, enhanced activity of colonic vitamin C and vitamin E levels were observed in DMH alone treated rats (group III), which was significantly reversed on troxerutin supplementation. Troxerutin at the dose of 25 mg/kg b.w. had shown profound beneficial effects by exhibiting near normal biochemical profile and well-preserved colon histology as compared to the other two tested doses (12.5 and 50 mg/kg b.w.). These findings suggest that troxerutin could serve as a novel agent for colon cancer chemoprevention.