Chemoprotective Effect of Bryodulcosigenin against 7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced Breast Cancer via Suppression of Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Apoptosis

Background Breast cancer, originating in the cells of the breast, involves a significant role of oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions in tumor cell proliferation. In this study, we investigate the chemoprotective impact of bryodulcosigenin against 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in rats, aiming to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Materials and Methods Female Wistar rats were used in this study, with breast cancer induced by intraperitoneal injection of DMBA at a dose of 80 mg/kg body weight. The rats were then treated orally with bryodulcosigenin at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg body weight for 22 weeks. Body weight, tumor marker, glycoprotein, mitochondrial, antioxidant, cytokines, and inflammatory parameters were estimated. Apoptosis parameters messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expressions were estimated. Results Bryodulcosigenin significantly ( p < 0.001) downregulated the tumor weight and incidence. Bryodulcosigenin significantly ( p < 0.001) repressed the tumor markers like cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), total sialic acid (TSA), and lipid-bound sialic acid (LSA); glycoprotein such as hexose, hexosamine, and sialic acid improved the level of mitochondrial parameters like succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH), alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (α-KGDH), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH); cytokines, namely, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and inflammatory parameters such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), prostaglandin (PGE 2 ), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), respectively. Bryodulcosigenin significantly ( p < 0.001) altered the level of lipid parameters such as triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL); antioxidant parameters like thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), respectively. Bryodulcosigenin significantly ( p < 0.001) altered the mRNA expression of apoptosis markers such as B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated protein x (Bax), and caspase-3. Conclusion We can conclude that bryodulcosigenin protects against DMBA-induced breast cancer by reducing inflammatory reactions and apoptosis.