Food & Nutrition

Arab Journal of Food & Nutrition
4. Nutraceutical Effect of Lentils (Lens culinaris, L) in Fisher 344 Rats with
Azoxymethane-Induced Colorectal Cancer (2008)
‘Mo’ez Al-Islam” Ezzat Faris\ University of Jordan
Supervisor: Dr. Hamed R. Takruri
Co-Supervisor: Dr. Maha S. Shomaf
The objective of this study was to determine the anticarcinogenic potential of
lentils (Lens culinaris, L) in their two most common culinary forms: raw whole lentils
(RWL) and raw split lentils (RSL), and the impact of thermal treatment on the
anticarcinogenic potential of the cooked forms (cooked whole lentils, CWL and
cooked split lentils, CSL). Raw soybean (RSB) (Glycine max) and the chemical
chemopreventive agent Pluronic F-68 (PF68) were used also for the purpose of
comparison with well-established chemopreventive agents. Seventy weanling Fisher
344 male rats, 4-5 week of age, were randomly assigned to 7 groups (10 rats/group):
the control group (C) received AIN-93G diet; treatment leguminous groups of RWL,
CWL, RSL, CSL and RSB received the treatment diets containing AIN-93G+5% of
the above mentioned legumes, and PF68 group received AIN-93G+l%PF68 diet. Next
to acclimatization for 1 week, all animals were put on the control and treatment diets
for 5 weeks. At the end of the fifth week, all rats received two subcutaneous injections
of AOM at 15 mg/kg rat body weight/dose once a week for two consecutive weeks.
After 17 weeks of the last AOM injection, all rats were sacrificed by chloroform.
Chemopreventive ability was assessed using histopathological biomarkers (aberrant
crypt foci (ACF), adenoma and adenocarcinoma in the rat colons) and by using
biochemical biomarker (activity of the hepatic detoxifying enzymes Glutathione-S-
Transferases). Significant reductions (P