Biodistribution of 99mTc-glutathione in animal model of breast cancer treated with white turmeric

Abstract

Breast cancer was a malignant tumor that attacks women and was the second highest cause of death in Indonesia after cervical cancer. White turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria) was a traditional herbal medicine that has been proven to have anticancer activity. Although the assistance and safety of using traditional herbal medicines were not supported by scientific evidence, the demand for traditional herbal medicines in Indonesia continues to increase. During the 2019, a cancer animal model was made to see the large amount of 99mTc-glutathione radiopharmaceutical in the artificial cancerous / tumor tissue. 99mTc-glutathione radiopharmaceutical was one of the kits that have been developed at the Center for Applied Nuclear Science and Technology - BATAN since 2010. Female white rats were being developed for 4-5 weeks with 7,12-dimethylbenzene (a) anthracene (DMBA) at a dose of 20 mg / kg BW orally. This DMBA solution was given 10 times which given in 5 weeks. After the cancerous nodules formed, rats were treated by giving turmeric extract with a dose of 81 mg / 200 g body weight of rats, which were given for 30 days. After the therapy was finished, a biodistribution was performed using 99mTc-glutathione radiopharmaceutical. Biodistribution results at 1 hour after radiopharmaceutical injection, accumulation of 99mTc-glutathione in several organs taken such as skin, muscle, bone, blood, intestine, cancerous tissue, liver, spleen, blood, heart, lungs and stomach respectively according each 0.12 ± 0.04; 0.03 ± 0.02; 0.06 ± 0.01; 0.12 ± 0.03; 0.06 ± 0.03; 0.07 ± 0.03; 0.06 ± 0.01; 0.04 ± 0.01; 4.24 ± 0.41; 0.07 ± 0.02; 0.10 ± 0.03; and 0.07 ± 0.02. These results indicate that the accumulation of 99mTc-glutathione radiopharmaceutical in the cancerous tissue of treated rats was considered to be very small, indicating the acceptance of the effect of white turmeric extract therapy. While significant enough was accumulated in the kidney, 99mTc-glutathione radiopharmaceutical is excreted in urine.