Prebiotic treatment reduced preneoplastic lesions through the downregulation of toll like receptor 4 in a chemo-induced carcinogenic model

Germinated barley foodstuff contains prebiotics which are reported to have anti-cancerous effects in colorectal cancer model, but the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Recent studies revealed that the role of microbiota was strongly related to the regulation of incidence and progression of colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the anti-neoplastic mechanism by prebiotics. Azoxymethane treated F344 rats were used as the sporadic cancerous model. After azoxymethane injection, either a control or germinated barley foodstuff diet was administered to the rats for another 5 weeks, and the number of abberant crypt foci, toll like receptor 4, Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog, adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor gene and cyclooxygenase 2 mRNA expression of colonic mucosa and cecal short chain fatty acids were examined. The germinated barley food stuff significantly attenuated the number of abberant crypt focis and the expression of toll like receptor 4 and cyclooxygenase 2 mRNA, compared to the control group. In addition, the cecal butyrate production in the germinated barley foodstuff group was significantly higher than that in the control. In conclusion, this prebiotic treatment for colorectal cancer may be useful without causing the adverse effects seen in either anti-cancer drugs or anti-inflammatory drugs.