Chemoprevention of aberrant crypt foci in the colon of rats by dietary onion

Onion intake might reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, according to epidemiology. However, Femia showed in 2003 that diets with a 20% onion intake increase carcinogenesis in rats. We speculated this dose was too high. Prevention of initiation was thus tested in 60 rats given a 5% dried onion diet or AIN76 diet, and initiated 12 days later with azoxymethane (AOM, 1 × 20 mg/kg i.p.), 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ, 2 × 200 mg/kg p.o.), or N-nitroso–N–methylurea (2 × 50 mg/kg p.o.). Prevention of promotion was tested in 38 rats given AOM, then randomised to: AIN76 diet; 5% onion diet; phytochemicals diet (supplemented with propyl-disulfide, quercetine-glycosides and oligofructose); 1% pluronic F68 diet (a potent chemopreventive PEG-like block-polymer, used as a positive control). Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were scored 30 days (initiation) or 100 days (promotion) after carcinogen injection. The onion diet given during initiation reduced the number of AOM-induced ACF (60 versus 86, p = 0.03), and the size of IQ-induced ACF (1.33 versus 1.97, p = 0.02). Given post-initiation, the onion diet reduced the number of ACF (34 versus 59, p = 0.008) and of large ACF (6 versus 15, p = 0.02). Phytochemicals diet and pluronic diet reduced ACF growth similarly. Data show that a 5% onion diet reduced carcinogenesis during initiation and promotion stages, and suggest this chemoprevention is due to known phytochemicals.