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Pancreatic cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed and developing countries. We studied the chemopreventive effect of Phyllanthus amarus on tissue lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status, which is used as biomarkers in azaserine induced pancreatic carcinogenesis in wistar rats. Male albino rats were randomized into 8 groups of animals each. Rats in group 1 received 1.0 ml of 0.5% carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) everyday via intragastric intubation and served as an untreated control. Groups 2- 4 rats received Phyllanthus amarus via intragastric intubation (p.o) at a daily dose of (100, 150, 200 mg/kg body weight). The rats in groups 5-8 received azaserine (5 mg/kg body weight) injection once in a week intraperitonially (i.p) for 3 weeks. In addition, groups 6 - 8 received Phyllanthus amarus as in groups 2-4 respectively and continued till the end of the experimental period. The animals were sacrificed at the end of 3 weeks. In the presence of azaserine, relative to the results for the control rats, there were increased levels of lipid peroxidation, as denoted by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and decreased activities of the enzymatic antioxidants (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH)). Our results indicate that intragastric administration of Phyllanthus amarus inhibits pancreatic carcinogenesis, not only by modulating lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status, but also by preventing azaserine induced histopathological changes. Our results thus indicate that Phyllanthus amarus may act as a chemopreventive agent for pancreatic carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]