Glucomannan as a Dietary Supplement for Treatment of Breast Cancer in a Mouse Model

Konjac glucomannan (KGM) is a water-soluble polysaccharide derived from the Amorphophallus's tuber and, as herbal medicine has shown, can suppress tumor growth or improve health. However, there has been no investigation into the effects of KGM on breast tumor-bearing mice. Therefore, in two cohort experiments, we assessed the effect of glucomannan at daily doses of 2 and 4 mg for 28 days as a dietary supplement and also glucomannan in combination with tumor lysate vaccine as an adjuvant. Tumor volume was monitored twice weekly. In addition, TNF-alpha cytokines and granzyme B (Gr-B) release were measured with ELISA kits, and IL-2, IL-4, IL-17, and IFN-gamma were used as an index for cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity. Moreover, TGF-beta and Foxp3 gene expression were assessed in a real-time PCR test. The results show that glucomannan as a dietary supplement increased the IFN-gamma cytokine and Th1 responses to suppress tumor growth. Glucomannan as a dietary supplement at the 4 mg dose increased the IL-4 cytokine response compared to control groups. In addition, cell lysate immunization with 2 or 4 mg of glucomannan suppressed tumor growth. As an adjuvant, glucomannan at both doses showed 41.53% and 52.10% tumor suppression compared with the PBS group. Furthermore, the administration of glucomannan as a dietary supplement or adjuvant reduced regulatory T cell response through decreasing TGF-beta and Foxp3 gene expression in the tumor microenvironment. In conclusion, glucomannan as a dietary supplement or adjuvant enhanced the immune responses of tumor-bearing mice and decreased immune response suppression in the tumor milieu, making it a potentially excellent therapeutic agent for lowering breast tumor growth.