A DOUBLE-BLIND-STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERING PURIFIED CELLULOSE AND PECTIN FIBER DIETS ON 1,2-DIMETHYLHYDRAZINE-INDUCED RAT COLONIC NEOPLASIA

Abstract

The incidence, distribution, size and histopathology of colonic tumors induced by parenteral administration of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine were examined in rats fed a chemically defined fiber-free diet or nutritionally and calorically equivalent diets containing 4.5 or 9.0% purified cellulose or pectin. Cellulose is protective against experimental colonic neoplasia. Although the precise mechanism for this protective effect remains to be elucidated, it was not cellulose dose dependent and appeared to depend on administration during injection of carcinogen. Identical amounts of cellulose and pectin fed as the sole source of fiber in chemically defined diets exert strikingly different effects in relation to development of intestinal neoplasia in this animal model.