Title : Evaluating anticancer and immunomodulatory effects of Spirulina (arthrospira) platensis and gamma-tocotrienol supplementation in a syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer
Abstract:
Nutrition can modulate host immune responses as well as promote anticancer effects.
In this study, two nutritional supplements, namely gamma-tocotrienol (T3) and Spirulina, were evaluated for their immune-enhancing and anticancer effects in a syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer (BC). Five-week-old female BALB/c mice were fed Spirulina, T3, or a combination of Spirulina and T3 (Spirulina + T3) for 56 days. The mice were inoculated with 4T1 cells into their mammary fat pad on day 28 to induce BC. The animals were culled on day 56 for various analyses. There was a marked increase (p < 0.05) of CD4/CD127+ T-cells and decrease (p < 0.05) of T-regulatory cells in peripheral blood from mice fed with either T3 or Spirulina. The breast tissue of the combined group showed abundant areas of necrosis, but did not prevent metastasis to the liver. This showed that combined T3 + Spirulina treatment did not show any synergistic anticancer effects in this study model.
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Nutraceuticals such as Spirulina and tocotrienol have been widely used by humans as a supplement. It will be beneficial to know if the combination of both can be therapeutic against breast cancer as it is one of the leading cause of death amongst women.
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This work could be extended to understand the mechanism of action of combined Spirulina and tocotrienol against breast cancer.
