Using Resistant Starches to Inhibit Colon Cancer

Marissa JacksonJadyn Johnson

GWC Symposium August 1, 2013

Objective

• To inhibit colon cancer using resistant starches.

• Resistant Starches:

-not digested in the small intestine

-fermented in the large intestine

-nearly passes through digestion in the small intestine

Resistant Starches

Hypothesis

• We hypothesize that resistant starch fed in a diet will be able to inhibit a common preneoplastic lesion, Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF).

ACF

Background• Using 60 A/J mice.• Using all male mice.• Mice are the same age (received at 5 weeks

old).

Colon Cancer Background

• More than 50, 000 people die from colon cancer each year

• More African Americans have colon cancer than any other race

• More men have colon cancer than women

Colon Cancer Symptoms

• Diarrhea or constipation• Feeling that the bowel has not emptied completely

after a bowel movement• Abdominal discomfort such as gas, bloating, and

cramps• Rectal bleeding• Unexplained weight loss• Unexplained iron-deficiency anemia (low red blood

cell count)• Weakness and fatigue.

Colon Cancer Treatments

• Surgery-for early stage• Chemotherapy-to kill remaining cancer cells• Radiation therapy-combined with

chemotherapy

Procedure

• Injected mice with azoxymethane (AOM) or Saline for 4 weeks.

• AOM: chemical used to induce cancer upon the mice.

• Does not affect the mice instantly.• Saline: Control injection

Procedure

• Mice were divided up into 4 equal groups with 10 AOM injected mice and 5 saline injected mice per group.

• 15 mice per diet.• Make and feed the mice 4 different diets

(Control Starch, HA7, OSA, and RS5) for 10 weeks.

• Each has a different resistant content (some are more resistant than others).

Procedure

• Observe and record the changes in the mice (loss of fur, barely moving, weight loss or gain, etc.)

Procedure

• Euthanize the mice with carbon dioxide.• Colons extracted and cut open.• Stain colons to find ACF.• Determine which diet is the most resistant

(mice with less ACF is most resistant).

Results

Results

Conclusion

• The treatments did not significantly affect the bodyweights.

• RS5 and OSA’s resistant contents could potentially be too high that they made the effects of the AOM worse.

• The HA7 diet could prevent colon cancer more than any of the other four diets.

• In conclusion, the HA7 diet would be the diet to choose if someone was trying to inhibit colon cancer.

Acknowledgements

• We would like to thank our mentors Dr. Diane Birt, Bridget Nelson, and Nicole Cray from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition for their guidance and supervision this summer during our internship experience here at Iowa State University. We would also like to thank the GWC staff for providing us with this wonderful experience.

Questions?

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Treatments." LiveScience.com. TechMedia Network, 2013. Web. 16 July 2013.

2. "What Are the Key Statistics about Colorectal Cancer?" What Are the Key Statistics about Colorectal Cancer? American

Cancer Society, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 July 2013.3. Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Definition." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation

for Medical Education and Research, 13 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 July 2013.

4. Hawk, Ernest T. "Colon Cancer Screening Methods." Iowa State University E-Library. NIH Senior Health, 2009. Web. 16

July 2013.5. "Colon Cancer Treatment." National Cancer Institute. National

Institutes of Health, 16 May 2013. Web. 16 July 2013.