Anticancer Potential of Nutraceutical Formulations in MNU-induced Mammary Cancer in Sprague Dawley Rats

BACKGROUND: Nutraceuticals help in combating some of the major health problems of the century including cancer, and ‘nutraceutical formulations’ have led to the new era of medicine and health. OBJECTIVE: To develop different nutraceutical formulations and to assess the anticancer potential of nutraceutical formulations in N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced mammary cancer in Sprague Dawley rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different nutraceutical formulations were prepared using fine powders of amla, apple, garlic, onion, papaya, turmeric, and wheat grass with and without cow urine distillate. Total phenolic content, acute oral toxicity, and microbial load of nutraceutical formulations were assessed. The anticancer potential of nutraceutical formulations was evaluated against MNU-induced mammary cancer in female Sprague Dawley rats. RESULTS: Improvement in total phenolic content was significant (P < 0.001) after self-fortification process. Toxicity studies showed that the nutraceutical formulations were safe to use in animals. Microbial load was within the limits. Significant longer tumor-free days (P < 0.01), lower tumor incidence (P < 0.01), lower tumor multiplicity (P < 0.05) and tumor burden (P < 0.01) were observed for nutraceutical formulation-treated groups. CONCLUSION: Combination of whole food-based nutraceuticals acted synergistically in the prevention of mammary cancer. Further, the process of fortification is novel and enhanced the anticancer potential of nutraceutical formulations. SUMMARY: Nutraceuticals help in combating some of the major health problems of the century including cancer, and ‘nutraceutical formulations’ have led to the new era of medicine and health. In this study, different nutraceutical formulations using fine powders of amla, apple, garlic, onion, papaya, turmeric, and wheat grass with and without cow urine distillate. Total phenolic content, acute oral toxicity, and microbial load of nutraceutical formulations were assessed. The anticancer potential of nutraceutical formulations was evaluated against MNU-induced mammary cancer in female Sprague Dawley rats. Improvement in total phenolic content was observed after self-fortification process. Toxicity studies showed that the nutraceutical formulations were safe to use in animals. Microbial load was within the limits. Longer tumor-free days, lower tumor incidence, lower tumor multiplicity and tumor burden were observed for nutraceutical formulation-treated groups. This suggests that combination of whole food-based nutraceuticals acted synergistically in the prevention of mammary cancer. Further, the process of fortification enhanced the anticancer potential of nutraceutical formulations. Abbreviations used: HMNU: N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, CAM: Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NF: Nutraceutical Formulation, SFNF: Self-Fortitfied Nutraceutical Formulation, NFCUD: Nutraceutical Formulation fortified with Cow Urine Disstillate, SFNFCUD: Self-Fortified Nutraceutical Formulation fortified with Cow Urine Disstillate, CPCSEA: Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals, OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, TPC: Total Phenolic Content, ANOVA: Analysis of Variance, GAE: Gallic Acid Equivalent, cfu/g: Colony forming unit per g