Authors : Tullayakorn Plengsuriyakarn, Vithoon Viyanant, Veerachai Eursitthichai, Smarn Tesana, Wanna Chaijaroenkul, Arunporn Itharat and Kesara Na-Bangchang
Abstract: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an uncommon adenocarcinoma which arises from the epithelial cells of the bile ducts. The aim of the study was to investigate the cytotoxicity, toxicity and anticancer activity of the crude ethanolic extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) against CCA. To investigate the anti-CCA activity, a total of 80 OV and nitrosamine (OV/DMN)-induced CCA hamsters were fed with the ginger extract at doses of 1000, 3000 and 5000 mg kg-1 body weight daily or every alternate day for 30 days. Control groups consisting of 10 hamsters for each group were fed with 5-fluorouracil (positive control) or distilled water (untreated control). Median IC50 values for cytotoxicity and anti-oxidant activities of the crude ethanolic extract of ginger were 10.95, 53.15 and 27.86 μg mL-1, respectively. About >10 DNA fragments were visualized and up to 7-9 fold up-regulation of MDR1 and MRP3 genes were observed following the exposure to ethanolic extract of ginger. Acute and subacute toxicity tests indicated absence of any significant toxicity at the maximum dose of 5,000 mg kg-1 body weight given by intragastric gavage. The survival time and survival rate of the CCA-bearing hamsters were significantly prolonged compared to the control group (median of 54 vs 17 weeks). Results from the in vitro and in vivo studies indicate promising anticancer activity of the crude ethanolic extract of ginger against CCA with the absence of any significant toxicity. However, MDR1 and MRP3 may be involved in conferring resistance of CCA to the ginger extract.
Tullayakorn Plengsuriyakarn, Vithoon Viyanant, Veerachai Eursitthichai, Smarn Tesana, Wanna Chaijaroenkul, Arunporn Itharat and Kesara Na-Bangchang, 2012. A Study on Cytotoxicity, Toxicity and Anticancer Activity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe Against Cholangiocarcinoma. Research Journal of Pharmacology, 6: 35-47.