Modulatory effect of hesperidin on benzo(a)pyrene induced experimental lung carcinogenesis with reference to COX-2, MMP-2 and MMP-9

Hesperidin is a naturally occurring flavonoid that has been reported to possess anticancer effects The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of hesperidin in modulating the expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mast cells (MCs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) during benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) induced lung carcinogenesis in mice B(a)P (50 mg/kg body weight) induced animals showed increased mast cell density (MCD) as revealed by toluidine blue staining and severe expression of COX-2 along with upregulated expression of MMP-2 and MMP 9 as revealed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry Supplementation of hesperidin (25 mg/kg body weight) to lung cancer bearing mice attenuated MCD and downregulated the expressions of COX-2 MMP-2 and MMP 9 These observations show that hesperidin exerts its anti-carcinogenic activity against lung cancer by altering the expressions of COX-2 MMP-2 and MMP 9 (C) 2010 Elsevier BV All rights reserved