CHEMOPREVENTIVE EFFECT OF MORCHELLA ESCULENTA AGAINST DMBA INDUCED SKIN PAPILLOMA IN MICE

Nitha B.*, Smina T.P. and K.K. Janardhanan

ABSTRACT

Chemoprevention is an important strategy to control the process of carcinogenesis. There has been a growing awareness in recent years that dietary non-nutrient compounds can have important effects as chemopreventive agents. Mushrooms have long been attracting a great deal of interest in many areas of foods and biopharmaceuticals and have a great potential for the production of useful bioactive metabolites and are prolific resource for drugs. Morchella esculenta (L) Pers. is an excellently edible and nutritious mushroom belonging to Ascomycotina division. The present study evaluated the inhibitory action of Morchella esculenta extract against DMBA induced and croton oil promoted skin pappilloma in swiss albino mice. The aqueous-ethanol extract of Morchella esculenta (1mg and 5mg) was given orally two weeks before the start of the experiment and applied topically 40 minutes before croton oil application. Average number of papilloma per mice, percent of animals with papilloma and tumor latency period were recorded. Significant reduction in number of papilloma per mice, percent of animals with papilloma and a marked increase in average latent period of tumor appearance were found after the treatment with the extract. The extract may have the immunotherapeutic property to inhibit growth of tumour cells and exert carcinostatic action. The antioxidant and antiinflammatory activity of the extract may also contribute to its anticancer property. Hence M esculenta mycelium possibly provides additive or synergistic effect in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Keywords: Chemoprevention, Carcinogenesis, mushroom, Morchella esculenta, skin papilloma.