Chemoprevention of intestinal tumorigenesis by the natural dietary flavonoid myricetin in APC(Min/+) mice

Myricetin is a natural dietary flavonoid compound. We evaluated the efficacy of myricetin against intestinal tumorigenesis in adenomatous polyposis coli multiple intestinal neoplasia (APC(Min/+)) mice. Myricetin was given orally once a day for 12 consecutive weeks. APC(Min/+) mice fed with myricetin developed fewer and smaller polyps without any adverse effects. Histopathological analysis showed a decreased number of dysplastic cells and degree of dysplasia in each polyp. Immunohistochemical and western blot analysis revealed that myricetin selectively inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in adenomatous polyps. The effects of myricetin were associated with a modulation the GSK-3β and Wnt/β-catenin pathways. ELISA analysis showed a reduced concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and PGE2 in blood, which were elevated in APC(Min/+) mice. The effect of myricetin treatment was more prominent in the adenomatous polyps originating in the colon. Further studies showed that myricetin downregulates the phosphorylated p38 MAPK/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways, which may be the mechanisms for the inhibition of adenomatous polyps by myricetin. Taken together, our data show that myricetin inhibits intestinal tumorigenesis through a collection of biological activities. Given these results, we suggest that myricetin could be used preventatively to reduce the risk of developing colon cancers.