The flavonoid apigenin is common to many plants. Although the responsible mechanisms have yet to be elucidated, apigenin demonstrates tumor suppression in vitro and in vivo. This study uses an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate- (DSS-) induced colon cancer mouse model to investigate apigenin’s potential mechanism of action exerted through its effects upon gut microbiota. The size and quantity of tumors were reduced significantly in the apigenin treatment group. Using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing of fecal samples, the composition of gut microbiota was significantly affected by apigenin. Further experiments in which gut microbiota were reduced and feces were transplanted provided further evidence of apigenin-modulated gut microbiota exerting antitumor effects. Apigenin was unable to reduce the number or size of tumors when gut microbiota were depleted. Moreover, tumor inhibition effects were initiated following the transplant of feces from mice treated with apigenin. Our findings suggest that the effect of apigenin on the composition of gut microbiota can suppress tumors.

中文翻译：

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芹菜素通过改变肠道微生物群对肿瘤发生的抑制作用

黄酮类芹菜素是许多植物所共有的。尽管相关机制尚未阐明，但芹菜素在体外和体内均显示出肿瘤抑制作用. 本研究使用氧化偶氮甲烷 (AOM)/葡聚糖硫酸钠-(DSS-) 诱导的结肠癌小鼠模型来研究芹菜素通过其对肠道微生物群的影响而发挥的潜在作用机制。芹菜素治疗组肿瘤的大小和数量显着减少。使用粪便样本的 16S rRNA 高通量测序，肠道微生物群的组成受到芹菜素的显着影响。减少肠道微生物群并移植粪便的进一步实验为芹菜素调节的肠道微生物群发挥抗肿瘤作用提供了进一步的证据。当肠道微生物群耗尽时，芹菜素无法减少肿瘤的数量或大小。此外，在移植用芹菜素治疗的小鼠的粪便后，开始了肿瘤抑制作用。