Chemopreventive Effect of Syringic Acid on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene Induced Hamster Buccal Pouch Carcinogenesis

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is most prevalent and refractory cancers worldwide. Recently, chemoprevention could be a promising approach in developing countries. The present study investigates the mechanism of syringic acid (SA), a phenolic constituent of plant Alpiniacalcarata Roscoe, and their leaves are used as traditional Indian Ayurveda medicines, mediated chemoprevention on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis (HBPC). Lipid peroxidation and antioxidants were measured in the plasma and buccal tissues in experimental hamsters. Modulating effect of SA on the expression pattern of PCNA, Cyclin D1, and mutant p53 markers was used for immunoexpression and western blotting analysis. In the present study, 100% tumor formation with marked abnormalities in the biochemical parameters of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants through up-regulation of molecular markers like PCNA, Cyclin D1, and mutant p53 was accompanied with tumor-bearing hamsters. Oral administration of SA at the doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight (bw) to DMBA-treated hamsters significantly inhibited adverse changes in the biochemical parameters of the plasma and buccal mucosal tissues and also down-regulation of molecular marker expression (PCNA, Cyclin D1, and mutant p53). The present study thus suggests that SA has potent anti-lipid peroxidative, antioxidant, anti-cell proliferative, and apoptosis-inducing properties during DMBA-induced HBPC.