Phytonutrient Effects of Date Pit Extract against Azoxymethane--Induced Oxidative Stress in the Rat Colon

Plants and their by-products offer a diverse mixture of chemical constituents like natural antioxidants. Date- pits are rich in phenolic compounds that have antioxidant potential. The main objective of this study was to investigate the protective effect of a date-pit extract (DPE) against AOM-induced colonic carcinogenicity and oxidative stress. Thirty-two weanling male Sprauge-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (eight rats in each group). All rats were fed basic diet and water ad libitum, and randomly distributed per treatment groups as follows: negative controls injected with normal saline once a week for two weeks, a cancer group injected intra-peritoneally with azoxymethane (15mg/kg body weight) for two consecutive weeks, and DPE treated groups receiving the extract via the oral route (1.5ml/day) for the entire experiment in the presence or absence of AOM injection. Results showed that DPE contained phytonutrients that were capable of inhibiting chemically-induced oxidative stress in the rat colonic cells. In those animals that consumed DPE, a protective effect was observed against AOM-induced oxidative stress in rat colonic cells as evident by a significant decrease in MDA and oxidized DCF formation in AOM injected and DPE fed groups. It is concluded that DPE has potential antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties.