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This study was undertaken to investigate the in vivo anti-tumor activity of MGN-3/Biobran, a modified arabinoxylan rice bran. Swiss albino mice were inoculated intramuscularly in the right thigh with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells. On Day 8, mice bearing a solid Ehrlich carcinoma (SEC) tumor were treated with MGN-3 via intraperitoneal injection. Tumor growth, cytokine production, and apoptotic effect of MGN-3 were examined. MGN-3 caused a highly significant delay in both tumor volume (63.27%) and tumor weight (45.2%) as compared to controls (P < 0.01). The mechanisms by which MGN-3 exerts its antitumor effect seem to involve its ability to induce apoptosis and immune modulation. MGN-3 induced a 1.8-fold increase in the percentage of apoptotic SEC cells as determined by flow cytometry and the histopathological examination. In addition, MGN-3 influenced plasma cytokine production by increasing the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma, while downregulating levels of the immune suppressing cytokine interleukin-10. Data also showed that non-tumor-bearing mice intramuscularly injected with MGN-3 resulted in a twofold increase in natural killer activity. No adverse side effects due to MGN-3 treatment were observed; all animals displayed normal feeding/drinking and life activity patterns. These data may have clinical implications for the treatment of solid cancers.

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The hepatoprotective activity of flavonol glycosides rich fraction (F-2), prepared from 70% alcohol extract of the aerial parts of V. calcarata Desf., was evaluated in a rat model with a liver injury induced by daily oral administration of CCl4 (100 mg/kg, b.w) for four weeks. Treatment of the animals with F-2 using a dose of (25 mg/kg, b.w) during the induction of hepatic damage by CCl4 significantly reduced the indices of liver injuries. The hepatoprotective effects of F-2 significantly reduced the elevated levels of the following serum enzymes: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The antioxidant activity of F-2 markedly ameliorated the antioxidant parameters including glutathione (GSH) content, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), plasma catalase (CAT) and packed erythrocytes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) to be comparable with normal control levels. In addition, it normalized liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and creatinine concentration. Chromatographic purification of F-2 resulted in the isolation of two flavonol glycosides that rarely occur in the plant kingdom, identified as quercetin-3, 5-di-O-beta-D-diglucoside (5) and kaempferol-3, 5-di-O-beta-D-diglucoside (4) in addition to the three known compounds identified as quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnosyl- (1-->6)-beta-D-glucoside [rutin, 3], quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucoside [isoquercitrin, 2] and kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucoside [astragalin, 1]. These compounds were identified based on interpretation of their physical, chemical, and spectral data. Moreover, the spectrophotometric estimation of the flavonoids content revealed that the aerial parts of the plant contain an appreciable amount of flavonoids (0.89%) calculated as rutin. The data obtained from this study revealed that the flavonol glycosides of F-2 protect the rat liver from hepatic damage induced by CCl4 through inhibition of lipid peroxidation caused by CCl4 reactive free radicals.

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