Mangiferin Attenuated Diethynitrosamine-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Sprague-Dawley Rats via Alteration of Oxidative Stress and Apoptotic Pathway

Liver cancer is the fifth commonly occurring cancer worldwide with the annual death rate of 9.1%. Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most frequent kind of primary liver cancer and occurs mostly in patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Because the cancer is generally detected only in the later stages, it is often treated with therapies such as radiation, ablation, and chemotherapy, which produces serious side effects and has a low recovery rate. Therefore, researchers are now focused on herbal-based drugs with increased efficacy and with no side effects to treat cancer. One such drug is mangiferin, a xanthanoid possessing augmented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic properties. The present study investigated the anticarcinogenic property of mangiferin against DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma was induced in healthy Sprague-Dawley rats by treating them with 0.01% diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in the drinking water for 12 weeks, followed by 50 mg of mangiferin for a period of 8 weeks. Biochemical, oxidative stress markers, antioxidant status, and tumor marker level in the DEN- and DEN + mangiferin-treated rats liver were assessed to detect the efficacy of mangiferin in inhibiting cancer induction. The anticarcinogenic property of mangiferin was confirmed by evaluating the apoptotic protein expression and histological analysis of liver tissue from DEN- and DEN + mangiferin-treated rats. Our results show that mangiferin possesess anticarcinogenic properties against DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. We predict that further investigation will reveal mangiferin as a potent drug to treat liver cancer.