Ameliorative Effects of Lycopene on Diethylnitrosamine-Induced Hepatocarcinogenesis in Male Rats

Ahmed Mohamed Mokhtar¹, Mohamed Fathy Elshafee¹, Ahmed Mohamed Mansour¹ and El-Sayed Mohamed El-Sayed^1,

¹Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr-City, Cairo, Egypt

Cite this paper:
Ahmed Mohamed Mokhtar, Mohamed Fathy Elshafee, Ahmed Mohamed Mansour and El-Sayed Mohamed El-Sayed. Ameliorative Effects of Lycopene on Diethylnitrosamine-Induced Hepatocarcinogenesis in Male Rats. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research. 2022; 10(4):261-273. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-10-4-2

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common liver cancer-causing the high rate of mortality worldwide. The present study evaluates the possible protective role of lycopene during diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced HCC in rats for 16 weeks. A patch of 60 male rats was divided according to the required treatment into 6 groups. DEN was given to rats in drinking water (100 mg/L) to induce HCC. In the present study. The groups supplied with lycopene were administered with lycopene at 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg BW/orally/daily during the experiment. The DEN alone administered group induced alterations in all the investigated parameters. The lycopene pretreated DEN groups showed significant ameliorations in a dose-dependent manner against the deleterious alterations of DEN in the biological markers, oxidative stress, liver function, lipid profile, hematological parameters, serum inflammatory markers (TNF-α and IL-6), immunohistochemical markers, caspase-3 liver content and histopathological changes, where the lycopene dose of 20 mg/kg showed better ameliorative effects. In conclusion, the oral administration of lycopene provides considerable protective effects against DEN-induced HCC which suggested the potential efficacy of lycopene as an additional chemopreventive agent in the treatment of HCC.

Keywords:
lycopene diethylnitrosamine hepatocellular carcinoma apoptosis oxidative stress

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