Colon cancer is the abnormal or uncontrolled growth of new cells in the colon, characterized by cells that tend to invade surrounding tissues and metastasize the new body sites. Colorectal cancers arise from adenomatous polyps in the colon. These mushroom-shaped growths are usually benign, but some develop into cancer over time Aberrant Crypt Foci were induced by all colon carcinogens in a dose and species dependant manner, the number and growth were modified by the modulators of colon carcinogenesis and they predicted the tumor outcome in several rodent studies. Chlorella's multi-layered cell wall contains the polysaccharides and beta carotene which can be attributed to much of the observed anti-cancer action.
A total of 36 male wistar rats were divided into six groups. Group 4,5 and 6 were given DMH 20mg/kg once a week for four weeks along with Chlorella pyerenoidosa 500mg,750mg and 1000mg/kg respectively for 16 weeks. At the end of 16 weeks, the animals were sacrified and the liver and colon tissues were subjected for histopathological studies. Results showed that DMH induces ACF indicating that development of these lesions in the colon is clearly related to the genotoxic events
In our study DMH increased the number of ACF whereas chlorella reduced the growth of ACF, the total number of ACF and also reduced its distribution in the proximal, middle and distal regions of colon. The size of the ACF in chlorella treated group was small compared to the DMH group indicating the effectiveness of chlorella in the management of colon cancer. The histopathological studies indicate that the colon cancer is induced by DMH which is evident by apoptotic cells and the invasion of the intestinal mucosa by the cancer cells whereas such an infiltration is reduced in chlorella treated group. This substantiates the claim that chlorella can serve as a prophylactic agent in the management of colon cancer.
