Histopathological Changes in Rabbit Gastric Mucosa After Chronic Exposure to Pickled Vegetables: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is very common in Iran. Daily consumption of pickled vegetables is a routine dietary habit in most areas of Iran. Because pickled vegetables have been associated with GC it can be of importance to study the relationship between the two. We have therefore studied the histo-morphological effects of pickled vegetables on the Rabbit gastric mucosa. Forty and twenty healthy male rabbits were respectively allocated in the experimental and control groups. The rabbits were fed freely with pickled (experimental group) and fresh vegetables (control group) for 1 yr. The gastric mucosa of rabbits was examined and the results were compared. In addition to all the rabbits of the control group, 14 rabbits (35%) of the experimental group had normal gastric mucosa. The rest showed abnormal changes including atypia—so called indefinite for dysplasia—in 10 (25%), low-grade dysplasia in 14 (35%), and high-grade dysplasia in 2 (5%). The analysis showed significant difference between results of the 2 groups (P < 0.001). Daily consumption of pickled vegetables can produce atypical and dysplastic changes in the gastric mucosa. Such preneoplastic changes can potentially transform to gastric carcinoma. This process could be prevented by reduction or cessation of daily pickled food consumption.