Feeding wheat germ meal and wheat germ oil reduced azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in fisher 344 male rats

Abstract

The aim of present study was to determine the effects of feeding Wheat Germ Meal (WGM) at 5 and 10% and Wheat Germ Oil (WGO) at 7% (normal fat) and 14% (high fat) on azoxymethane (AOM) induced aberrant crypt foci in Fisher 344 male rats. Following a 1 week period of acclimatization, rats were assigned to 6 groups and fed American Institute of Nutrition 93-Growth diet (AIN-93G) with 7% (CI) and 14% (C2) soybean oil (SBO), AIN-93G diet with 7 and 14% WGO (instead of SBO) and Wheat Germ Meal (WGM) C1+ 5 and 10% WGM. At 7 and 8 week of age all rats received subcutaneous injections of azoxymethane (AOM) at 16 mg kg-1 body weight and were killed at 17 week of age by C02 asphyxiation. AOM-induced Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF) were counted. Results showed that ACF formation in distal colons in rats fed 7 SBO, 14 SBO, 7 WGO and 14% WGO (Means±SEM) were 99.2±15.9, 126.0±17.0, 68.2±0.4 and 79.7±1.9 respectively. In rats fed 5% WGM and 10% WGM the number of ACF were 23.75±1.11, 18.6±1.0, 75.2±2.39 and 49.6±2.2 in proximal and distal colon. Total ACF reductions (%) compared to control in rats fed 5% WGM and 10% WGM were 25% and 47%, respectively. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities were significantly (p<0.05) higher in treatment groups (5 and 10% WGM) compared to control (7 and 14% SBO). These results indicated that wheat germ and wheat germ oil significantly (p< 0.05) reduced AOM induced ACF. Regular consumption of wheat germ and wheat germ oil may have health implications. © 2008 Academic Journals Inc.