2007 Volume 53 Issue 6 Pages 644-654
Tumour markers correlate strongly with prognosis on tumour burden. Glycoprotein components and lysosomal hydrolases play an important role in carcinogenesis. Hence, this study was launched to evaluate the effect of Kalpaamruthaa (KA), a modified Siddha preparation, on the changes in glycoprotein components, lysosomal enzymes and marker enzymes in control and mammary carcinoma bearing rats. A significant increase in the activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and 5' nucleotidase (5'-NT) in plasma, liver and kidney were observed in animals with mammary carcinoma. The activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were significantly reduced in the liver and kidney whereas increased in plasma of cancerous animals. On administration of KA, these changes were reverted back to near normal levels. The increased levels of glycoprotein components (hexose, hexosamine and sialic acid) and in the activities of lysosomal enzymes such as acid phosphatase (ACP), β-D-Glucuronidase, β-D-Galactosidase, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and Cathepsin-D (CD) found in mammary carcinoma were also significantly decreased in KA treated animals. In all these studies, simultaneous KA administration proved more efficacious than post KA treatment, thus depicting the effective control of KA against the development of mammary carcinoma.
