Chemopreventive efficacy of piperine in 7,12-dimethyl benz [a] anthracene (DMBA)-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis: An FT-IR study

The present study is designed to investigate the effect of piperine in modifying the carcinogenic process, as well as biochemical alterations at the molecular level during DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis by FT-IR spectroscopy. Specific changes were noticed in the FT-IR spectral features of DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinoma. These alterations include structural changes of proteins and possible increase of its content, an increase in the nuclear-to-cytoplasm ratio, an increase in the relative amount of DNA, an enhancement in the phosphorylation of proteins, a loss of hydrogen bonding of the C–OH groups in the amino acid residues of proteins and diminished lipid peroxidation which were accompanied by a significant reduction in the relative amount of lipids compared to untreated control animals. Administration of piperine significantly increased the levels of lipid peroxidation and decreased the levels of proteins and nucleic acid content that were found to increase in oral cancer bearing animals. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that piperine may exert its chemopreventive effect by modulating the biochemical changes at the molecular level during DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis which can be detected using FT-IR spectroscopic technique.