Dietary administration of tannic acid lowers plasminogen activator activity in the liver of C3H hepatoma bearing male mice

Abstract

Background: This study was undertaken to investigate if low-dose dietary administration of tannic acid exerts its chemopreventative activity on hepatocarcinogenesis in male C3H mice through changes of plasminogen activator activity (PAA), plasminogen activator inhibition (PAI) or plasma inhibition (Pl) in the liver of C3H hepatoma bearing male mice. Materials and Methods: Tannic acid was administered in the drinking water of hepatoma bearing C3H mice, in a concentration of 0.0075% (group B), 0.0015% (group C) and 0.03% (group D) for 9 months. PAA, PAI and PI were measured by spectrophotometric methods in macroscopically healthy liver regions. Results: Tannic acid induced a decrease of PAA (53%) and an increase of PAIs (50%) in the livers of group D while tannic acid received mice showed a dramatic decrease in liver carcinomas incidence (0% vs 33.3% in the control group). Conclusion: The decrease of PAA in the liver of C3H hepatoma bearing male mice, might be correlated with the chemopreventive activity of tannic acid in hepatoma development.