Effect of Tartrazine and Curcumin Intake on Serum Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) and Stomach Histopathology in Rats

Year 2025, Volume: 52 Issue: 3, 415 - 422, 16.09.2025

Metin Varlı Mehmet Cihan Yavaş , İzzettin Toktaş , Güldidar Basmacı Musluh Hakseven

https://doi.org/10.5798/dicletip.1784750

Abstract

Objective: Food colorants are known to induce physiological and biochemical changes in tissues, raising concerns about their potential health effects. The purpose of this study was to assess tartrazine's effects and curcumin supplementation on stomach tissue and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in rats.
Methods: Thirty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=7 per group) and treated via oral gavage for three weeks: Group 1 consisted of a control group, Group 2 of low-dose tartrazine, Group 3 of high-dose tartrazine, Group 4 of low-dose tartrazine + curcumin, and Group 5 of high-dose tartrazine + curcumin. Serum CEA levels were measured and stomach tissues were subjected to histopathological examination.
Results: Following tartrazine treatment, serum CEA levels were higher than in the control group; however, this difference was not of statistical significance (p > 0.05). CEA levels were somewhat lowered by co-administration of curcumin. When compared to the control, histopathological investigation showed that all tartrazine-treated groups had degenerated stomach tissues. Hyperkeratosis was notably increased in all experimental groups relative to the control group, with the most pronounced effect observed in Group 5 (p < 0.001). While hyperplasia in Group 2 did not differ significantly from the control (p > 0.05), Groups 3, 4, and 5 exhibited a statistically notable rise (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: These results show that tartrazine may induce dose-dependent histopathological alterations in stomach tissue, and curcumin may exert a modest protective effect.

Keywords

Carcinoembryonic antigen , stomach , tartrazine , curcumin , histopathology

Ethical Statement

All groups included in the study were conducted in accordance with the NIH general guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals and with ethical permission from the Dicle University Health Sciences Research and Application Center Animal Experiments Local Ethics Committee (25/09/2024, Decision no: 03, Meeting no: 12).

Ratlarda Tartrazin ve Kurkumin Alımının Serum Karsinoembriyonik Antijen (CEA) ve Mide Histopatolojisi Üzerine Etkisi

Abstract

Öz
Amaç: Gıda renklendiricilerinin dokularda fizyolojik ve biyokimyasal değişikliklere neden olduğu bilinmekte olup, potansiyel sağlık etkileri konusunda endişelere yol açmaktadır. Bu çalışma, tartrazin ve kurkumin takviyesinin sıçanlarda mide dokusu ve serum karsinoembriyonik antijen (CEA) düzeyleri üzerindeki etkisini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır.
Yöntemler: Otuz beş erkek sıçan rastgele beş gruba ayrıldı (grup başına n=7) ve üç hafta boyunca oral gavaj yoluyla tedavi edildi: Grup 1 (kontrol), Grup 2 (düşük doz tartrazin), Grup 3 (yüksek doz tartrazin), Grup 4 (düşük doz tartrazin +kurkumin) ve Grup 5 (yüksek doz tartrazin + kurkumin). Serum CEA düzeyleri ölçüldü ve mide dokuları histopatolojikincelemeye tabi tutuldu.
Bulgular: Tartrazin uygulaması, kontrol grubuna kıyasla serum CEA seviyelerinin yükselmesine rağmen önemli bir istatistiksel fark tespit edilmedi (p > 0,05). Kurkumin ile birlikte uygulanması, CEA seviyelerinde kısmi bir azalmaya yol açtı. Histopatolojik analiz, tartrazin ile tedavi edilen tüm gruplarda kontrol grubuna kıyasla mide dokularında dejenerasyon olduğunu ortaya koydu. Hiperkeratoz, kontrol grubuna kıyasla tüm deney gruplarında anlamlı şekilde arttı ve en belirgin etki Grup 5'te gözlendi (p < 0,001). Grup 2'deki hiperplazi kontrolden anlamlı şekilde farklı olmasa da (p > 0,05), Grup 3, 4 ve 5 istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir yükselme gösterdi (p < 0,05).
Sonuç: Bu bulgular tartrazinin mide dokusunda doza bağlı histopatolojik değişikliklere neden olabileceğini, kurkuminin ise orta düzeyde koruyucu etki gösterebileceğini düşündürmektedir.

Keywords

Karsinoembriyonik antijen , mide , tartrazin , kurkumin , histopatoloji.

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