RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of ginger extract on the expression of NFêB and TNF-á in liver cancer-induced rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups based on diet: i) control (given normal rat chow), ii) olive oil, iii) ginger extract (100mg/kg body weight), iv) choline-deficient diet + 0.1 percent ethionine to induce liver cancer and v) choline-deficient diet + ginger extract (100mg/kg body weight). Tissue samples obtained at eight weeks were fixed with formalin and embedded in paraffin wax, followed by immunohistochemistry staining for NFêB and TNF-á. RESULTS: The expression of NFêB was detected in the choline-deficient diet group, with 88.3 ± 1.83 percent of samples showing positive staining, while in the choline-deficient diet supplemented with ginger group, the expression of NFêB was significantly reduced, to 32.35 ± 1.34 percent (p<0.05). In the choline-deficient diet group, 83.3 ± 4.52 percent of samples showed positive staining of TNF-á, which was significantly reduced to 7.94 ± 1.32 percent (p<0.05) when treated with ginger. There was a significant correlation demonstrated between NFêB and TNF-á in the choline-deficient diet group but not in the choline-deficient diet treated with ginger extract group. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, ginger extract significantly reduced the elevated expression of NFêB and TNF-á in rats with liver cancer. Ginger may act as an anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agent by inactivating NFêB through the suppression of the pro-inflammatory TNF-á.