14 DAY TRIAL // Black raspberries are not only delicious and full of vitamins, but also very effective in preventing colorectal tumors in two mouse models of colorectal cancer, a new study carried out by the University of Illinois at Chicago suggests.
The team of researchers experimented on two strains of mice – Apc1638 and Muc2, each having a certain gene removed, causing the mice to develop either intestinal tumors – in the case of Apc1638, or colitis, for Muc2 mice.
Both mouse strains were fed, randomly, either a Western-style, high-fat and low in calcium and vitamin D diet, or the same diet improved with 10% freeze-dried black raspberry powder, for a period of 12 weeks.
At the end of the experiment, the researchers found that the black raspberry-supplemented diet was effective on both mouse strains, and that it had several protective effects in the intestine, colon and rectum, and also inhibited the formation of tumors.
In the Apc1638 mice, the black raspberry diet reduced tumor incidence by 45% and the number of tumors by 60%.
The team found out that the inhibition of tumor development was caused by the suppression of a protein called beta-catenin, which is linked to the APC gene.
In the case of Muc2 mice, tumor incidence as well as the number of tumors both decreased by 50%, and the black raspberries inhibited tumor development thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties.
It was known from previous research that black raspberries have antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory properties, and this is one of the reasons that pushed the researchers to verify the fruit's ability to prevent colon cancer.
Dr. Wancai Yang, assistant professor of pathology at the UIC College of Medicine and senior author of the study said that “we saw the black raspberry as a natural product, very powerful, and easy to access.”
Dr Yang focuses on the interactions of genetic and nutritional factors in the development of intestinal cancer and the prevention of tumors.
The next step is to obtain funding and start clinical trials in humans, Yang said, and because black raspberries do not only prevent cancer, but inflammation as well, they might be very effective against other conditions, like heart disease.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the US, according to data from the National Cancer Institute.
Colitis is an inflammation of the large intestine that can lead to the development of colorectal cancer.
This research was funded by UIC's department of pathology and the National Cancer Institute, and the results are published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research.