Regular Paper

Suppressive Effect of Dietary Young Barley Leaf Powder on Colonic Aberrant Crypt Foci Induced by 1, 2-Dimethylhydrazine in Mice

Yohko SUGAWA-KATAYAMA1*, Kazuyuki OKU1, 5, Masayuki KATAYAMA1,
Ryoko SHIMADA1, Yoko YAMAGUCHI2, Kaori MURAKAMI3,
Tomoyasu KAMIYA4, Motoya IKEGUCHI4

1Department of Health and Nutrition, Osaka Aoyama University
2Department of Environmental Sciences, Fukuoka Women’s University
3Department of Food Sciences and Biotechnology, Hiroshima Institute of Technology
4Research and Development Division, TOYO SHINYAKU Co., Ltd.
5Department of Clinical Nutrition , Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare

The inhibitory effects of dietary supplementation with young barley leaf powder (YBLP) on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) formation in the colon were investigated in mice. Male BALC/c mice were fed a semi-purified AIN-93G diet containing 3% cellulose (Control-diet) or 3% cellulose plus 3% YBLP (YBLP-diet) for 17 weeks. Mice were divided into 4 treatment groups: (i) DMH(−) - Control-diet, (ii) DMH(−) - YBLP-diet, (iii) DMH(+) - Control-diet, and (iv) DMH(+) - YBLP-diet. Mice in the DMH(+) groups were intraperitoneally injected with DMH at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight every week for 10 weeks, while those in the DMH(−) groups were not injected with DMH. The gastrointestinal transit time was shortened in the mice fed the YBLP-diet. The number and frequency of ACF in the colon were lowered significantly in the DMH-treated mice fed the YBLP-diet in comparison with those fed the Control-diet. The serum 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine concentration decreased significantly in the DMH-treated mice fed the YBLP-diet. As for the levels of organic acids in the cecal contents, the DMH-treated mice fed the YBLP-diet displayed significantly increased levels of lactic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, and n-butyric acid, compared with the group fed the Control-diet. The above results indicate that the YBLP-diet may have a suppressive effect on the induction of colonic ACF by DMH injection, suggesting suppression of the induction of colonic cancer by DMH administration.
Key words : young barley leaf powder, 1,2-dimethylhydrazine, mice, aberrant crypt foci, 8-hydroxy-2’- deoxyguanosine, organic acids, transit time.

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