Effect of melatonin on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced intestinal tumors in rats

Fifteen doses of 21 mg/kg body weight of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) were injected into 48 female rats at one-week intervals. Controls included 25 animals while 23 received 20 mg/l of melatonin with drinking water, 5 times a week, at night-time, for 6 months, beginning from the day of the first injection. Although malignancies of large bowel developed in all animals, multiple tumors in the melatonin group were significantly fewer than in the rats treated with DMH alone (6,0 and 9,9 respectively; p < 0,001). Similarly, melatonin treatment was followed by a significantly lower frequency of tumor development in the ascending colon as well as fewer multiple neoplasms of the ascending and descending colon. Melatonin was also shown to inhibit carcinogenesis in the small intestine. It is suggested that the antitumor effects of melatonin is due to its antioxidant properties.