α-Spinasterol is a phytosterol found in a variety of plant sources such as spinach, from which it gets its name. Spinasterol, an antimutagen, was isolated from squash flowers by solvent partitioning and repeated vacuum liquid chromatography. Spinasterol was then tested for its anticarcinogenic potential by using the mouse skin tumor assay. There was a 90% skin tumor incidence for the positive control group (DMBA + croton oil + acetone). At a concentration of 15.0 microg/0.2 ml acetone, spinasterol decreased the incidence of skin tumors by 55.6% and decreased the number of tumors by 65.0% when applied immediately after croton oil. Hence, spinasterol showed antitumorigenic potential. It is not a co-carcinogen nor a co-tumor promoter as there was no increase in the incidence of skin tumors after spinasterol application.
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