Effect of omega-3-rich fish oil on TNF- α expression in mice's colonic tissue induced with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)

Colorectal cancer (CC) is one type of cancer with a high incidence worldwide. Many therapeutic techniques have been for CC but have not yet yielded satisfactory results. Fish oil has potential as an alternative therapy for CC through its anti-inflammatory effects. Here, we want to investigate that effect on TNF-α expression using omega-3-rich fish oil (FO).

FO was injected into Swiss mice that have been induced (2% in drinking water) with DSS for seven consecutive days. Animals were separated into six groups: normal, negative control, positive control, solvent control, and FO groups (3 and 6 mg/kg body weight/day). All animals were sacrificed, and the colons were collected then stained with anti-TNF-α. The stained sections were subsequently examined with ImageJ based on colour density.

Based on the H-Score of each group, FO 3 mg and 6 mg has significantly decreased the expression of TNF-α compared to the negative control (p=0.001 and p=0.009).

FO administration was able to inhibit the expression of TNF-α on mice's colonic tissue induced with AOM and DSS.