Abstract
Dietary barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaf (BL) is a popular functional food known to have potential health benefits; however, the effect of BL in colorectal cancer prevention has not been examined. Here, we examined the role of BL on the prevention of colorectal carcinogenesis and defined the mechanism involved. BL supplementation could protect against weight loss, mitigate tumor formation, and diminish histologic damage in mice treated with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Moreover, BL suppressed colonic expression of inflammatory enzymes, while improving the mucosal barrier dysfunctions. The elevated levels of cell proliferation markers and the increased expression of genes involved in β-catenin signaling were also reduced by BL. In addition, analyses of microbiota revealed that BL prevented AOM/DSS-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis by promoting the enrichment of Bifidobacterium. Overall, these data suggest that BL is a promising dietary agent for preventing colitis-associated colorectal cancer.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer has become one of the most common malignancies in the world [1].As one common type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis features chronic inflammation in the large intestine, which is an important risk factor closely related to the occurrence of colorectal cancer [2,3,4]
Our results demonstrated that the preventive efficacy of dietary Barley leaf (BL) on tumorigenesis occurred through attenuating inflammatory responses, enhancing mucosal barrier function, and suppressing microbiota dysbiosis
Previous findings showed that the gut microbiome, which can be remarkably shaped by diet, is a key contributing factor to the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer [15]
Summary
Colorectal cancer has become one of the most common malignancies in the world [1]. As one common type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis features chronic inflammation in the large intestine, which is an important risk factor closely related to the occurrence of colorectal cancer [2,3,4]. It is estimated that more than 1 million patients are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and more than 20% of patients die of the disease [5,6]. Several anti-inflammatory drugs have been demonstrated to effectively ameliorate the incidence of colorectal cancer [7]. It is still necessary to find efficacious and safe treatment strategies and measures to lower the risk of colorectal cancer
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