Lack of inhibitory effects of lactic acid bacteria on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon tumors in rats.

OBJECTIVE

A myriad of healthful effects has been attributed to the probiotic lactic acid bacteria, perhaps the most controversial issue remains that of anticancer activity. This study was aimed at investigating the putative anti-cancer effects of lactic acid bacteria strains on the progression of colon tumor in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-treated animals.

METHODS

The strain of lactic acid bacteria used in this study was lactic acid bacteria NZ9000 that conformed to the characteristics of plasmid free. Sixty male Wistar rats were given subcutaneous injections of DMH at a dose of 40 mg/kg body wt or saline once a week for 10 weeks. The rats were divided into 6 experimental groups. After the last DMH injection, animals in groups 1 and 4 were gavaged with 1 ml of lactic acid bacteria at a dose of 5 X 10(9) per day or vehicle until sacrifice at the end of week 22 or week 52. Animals in groups 1-3 were killed at the end of week 22 for histopathological examination. The whole period of experimental observation was 52 weeks.

RESULTS

By the end of 22nd week, final average body weights of the rats treated with DMH alone and all animals receiving lactic acid bacteria were significantly decreased compared with the vehicle control (P<0.05). No differences in tumor incidence, multiplicity, dimensions and stage in the colonic mucosa were observed among the groups. At week 52, the survival rate of the rats administered lactic acid bacteria was lower than that of the rats treated with DMH that were fed on control fluids of non-lactococcus lactis. The mean survival time of lactic acid bacteria-treated animals was 39 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that lactic acid bacteria lacks inhibitory effects on the progression of colon tumor in DMH-treated animals, and does not support the hypothesis that alteration of colonic flora may exert an influence on the progression of colon tumor.