Natural medicines are predominantly used by the majority of the world population as the primary health care (Balick, 1994). Monoterpenes are secondary metabolites of plants and are also widely found in microorganisms. Monoterpenes belong to the category of terpenoids and are also known as isoprenoids (Kohl et al., 2015). Monoterpenes are frequently utilized in many areas like agriculture, cosmetic, food industries, and as general antiseptic. Monoterpenes possess various pharmacological properties like antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, vasorelaxant, hypotensive, and antispasmodic effects (Tan et al., 2016) (Vieira et al., 2018). They are also used in many medical practices (Ravichandran et al., 2018; Suh et al., 2017). Limonene is a monoterpene that is found in natural fruits like grape fruit (95%), tangerine (94%), orange (91%), mandarine (72%), lemon (65%), and elemi (50%) (González-Mas et al., 2019). D-limonene is the principal active form of limonene (Erasto & Viljoen, 2008). D-limonene is present in citrus essential oils and spices but the most commonly food source of limonene is orange peel oil, which is about 90%-95% D-limonene by weight (Aazza et al., 2011). Limonene is frequently used as a dietary supplement and as a fragrance ingredient for cosmetics products.

Objectives:Capsaicin (CAP) is the chief pungent principle found in the hot red peppers and the chili peppers that have long been used as spices, food additives and drugs. This study investigated the anticancer potential of CAP through its ability to modify extracellular matrix components and proteases during mice lung carcinogenesis.Methods:Swiss albino mice were treated with benzo(a) pyrene (50 mg/kg body weight dissolved in olive oil) orally twice a week for four successive weeks to induce lung cancer at the end of 14th week. CAP was administrated (10 mg/kg body weight dissolved in olive oil) intraperitoneally. Extracellular matrix components were assayed; Masson’s trichome staining of lung tissues was performed. Western blot analyses of matrix metalloproteases 2 and 9 were also carried out.Results:In comparison with the control animals, animals in which benzo(a)pyrene had induced lung cancer showed significant increases in extracellular matrix components such as collagen (hydroxy proline), elastin, uronic acid and hexosamine and in glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronate, chondroitin sulfate, keratan sulfate and dermatan sulfate. The above alterations in extracellular matrix components were effectively counteracted in benzo(a)pyrene along with CAP supplemented animals when compared to benzo(a) pyrene alone supplemented animals. The results of Masson’s trichome staining for collagen and of, immunoblotting analyses of matrix metalloproteases 2 and 9 further supported the biochemical findings.Conclusion:The apparent potential of CAP in modulating extracellular matrix components and proteases suggests that CAP plays a chemomodulatory and anti- cancer role working against experimentally induced lung carcinogenesis.

Objectives:The present study was undertaken to determine the modulatory effect of taurine on the liver mitochondrial enzyme system with reference to mitochondrial lipid peroxidation (LPO), antioxidants, major tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes, and electron transport chain enzymes during 7,12-dimethyl benz[a]anthracene (DMBA) induced breast cancer in Sprague-Dawley rats.Methods:Animals in which breast cancer had been induced by using DMBA (25 mg/kg body weight) showed an increase in mitochondrial LPO together with decreases in enzymic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)), non-enzymic antioxidants (reduced glutathione (GSH), vitamin C, and vitamin E), in citric acid cycle enzymes (isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), alpha ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (alpha KDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH)), and in electron transport chain (ETC) complexes.Results:Taurine (100 mg/kg body weight) treatment decreased liver mitochondrial LPO and augmented the activities/levels of enzymic, and non-enzymic antioxidants, tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes and ETC complexes.Conclusion:The results of our present study demonstrated the chemotherapeutic efficacy of taurine treatment for DMBA-induced breast carcinomas.

Breast cancer is one of the most severe problems in oncology. Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid with vital biological functions. The current study was intended to investigate the abnormalities in the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins that lead to the progression of 7,12-dimethyl benz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer and to expose the protective effect of taurine on it. Rats were induced with DMBA by gastric intubation to induce breast cancer. Breast cancer-bearing animals were posttreated with taurine. The breast tumors induced by DMBA, analyzed in the current study, were characterized by increased protein/DNA expression of Bcl-2 associated with downregulation in the expression of p53, Bax, and caspases. Taurine treatment reverted all the above changes induced by DMBA and inhibited the development of rat breast carcinoma through its ability to induce apoptosis.

The modulatory effect of taurine on 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in rats was studied. DMBA (25 mg/kg body weight) was administered to induce breast cancer in rats. Protein carbonyl levels, activities of membrane bound enzymes (Na(+) /K(+) ATPase, Ca(2+) ATPase, and Mg(2+) ATPase), phase I drug metabolizing enzymes (cytochrome P450, cytochrome b5, NADPH cytochrome c reductase), phase II drug metabolizing enzymes (glutathione-S-transferase and UDP-glucuronyl transferase), glycoprotein levels, and proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were studied. DMBA-induced breast tumor bearing rats showed abnormal alterations in the levels of protein carbonyls, activities of membrane bound enzymes, drug metabolizing enzymes, glycoprotein levels, and PCNA protein expression levels. Taurine treatment (100 mg/kg body weight) appreciably counteracted all the above changes induced by DMBA. Histological examination of breast tissue further supported our biochemical findings. The results of the present study clearly demonstrated the chemotherapeutic effect of taurine in DMBA-induced breast cancer.