1988 Volume 34 Issue 8 Pages 1548-1556
At present, a number of antitumor agents to oral malignant tumors are applied. Plant glycoside-ginsenoside has been found by Odashima et al.(1979). to inhibit growth in certain malignant tumors. Concerning the inhibition of proliferation on a chemically induced salivary gland tumor by the ginsenoside, the authors have already demonstrated the favorable results in the previous study. In this paper, an anti-carcinogenesis effect of the ginsenoside in animals was studied regarding the chemically induced salivary gland tumor.
Experimental methods: Male dd-strain mice (2 months old) were used as experimental subjects. To induce salivary gland tumors, 10% 20-methylcholanthrene in olive. oil, which roughly amounts to 1.0mg/100g, was injected into the surgically exposed sub-maxillary gland of mice. These mice were divided into three groups, i.e., control group, G-Rh2 group and G 1 group. After procedure of 20-methylcholanthrene injection, ginsenoside G-Rh2 (amounts to 0.1mg/100g) in the G-Rh2 group and/or glycyrrhizin-NH4 (amounts to 10mg/100g) in the G1 group was administered subcutaneously, 2 times weekly, for experimental duration (6 months). After the end of the experiment in the each group, the mice were sacrificed, and the submaxillary gland tumors were examined histopathologically.
Experimental results: The first manifestations of induced submaxillary gland tumors became evident at about 11 weeks in the control group, 13 weeks in the G1 group, and 14 weeks in the G-Rh2 group. The incidence of these induced tumors in each group, was as follows: 7 of 20 mice (35.0%), in the control group 3 of 20 mice (15.0%) in the G-Rh2 group and 5 of 20 mice (25.0%) in the G1 group. In addition, the loss of body weight in the G-Rh2 group and the G1 group was suppressed. According to histopathological findings, the histological type of the submaxillary gland tumors was observed to be in variety: Namely epithelial and mesenchymal tumors and their mixed tumor were found in each group. Within these groups, degeneration and/or destruction of the tumor cells were observed at places of the tumor's nest in the G-Rh2 group.
From these results, we were impressed not only by the inhibition of proliferation of the induced tumor but also by anti-carcinogenesis due to the ginsenoside Rh2.
