A model system for studying the adsorption of a hydrophobic mutagen to dietary fibre

Dietary influences on mutagenesis--where is this field going?

Early studies on dietary mutagenesis were mostly observational, with large numbers of potential dietary mutagens being identified from every conceivable dietary source. These included known dietary carcinogens such as aflatoxin B1 and benzo[a]pyrene, and hitherto unrecognized dietary mutagens, such as the pyrolysis products formed during the heating of proteinaceous materials (heterocyclic amines). The 1993 evaluation of 2-amino-3-methyl-3H-imidazo(4,5-j)quinoline as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer was a landmark, as this was done in the absence of specific human carcinogenicity data, and strongly influenced by mutagenicity test data. In the 21st century, the field has moved from the identification of more and more mutagens, to molecular epidemiologic approaches that not only show a mutagenic effect but also seek to link it to a dietary (or environmental) cause. Effects of diet in stimulating chronic inflammation may lead to reactive species and thereby mutation as a secondary consequence, while dietary deficiencies and nutrient imbalances may be strong sources of mutagenesis. Recognition of the roles of nutrients in cell signaling processes and control of microRNAs suggest major influences on gene expression, in the absence of permanent DNA changes. Genome-wide association studies have highlighted new pathways such as JAK/STAT signaling that profoundly influence genomic instability and responses to dietary mutagens. With improved methodologies for DNA sequencing and epigenetic changes, it is time to apply more sophisticated approaches to recognizing and proving the role of diet as a primary modulator of mutagenesis in humans.

The effects of pH and bile salts on the binding of MeIQx to wheat bran fibre

The effects of pH and of the bile salts, sodium cholate, chenodeoxycholate, taurocholate, deoxycholate and glycodeoxycholate on the adsorption of the heterocyclic aromatic amine mutagen and carcinogen 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]-quinoxaline (MeIQx) onto wheat bran cell wall material have been examined. The highest binding affinity of MeIQx for bran was at pH 5.5. Binding affinity declined more rapidly with pH > 5.5 than with pH < 5.5. Bile salts in solution did not appreciably affect the binding of MeIQx to bran, but where the bile salts formed a suspension then the adsorption was reduced. Where precipitation of bile salts occurred then the free concentration of MeIQx was also reduced, indicating that MeIQx binding/immobilization could be enhanced through interaction with bile salts.

Antigenotoxic activities of chitin and chitosan as assayed by sister chromatid exchange

The antigenotoxic activities of chitin and chitosan were studied using sister chromatid exchange assay by examining the adsorption of four kinds of mutagens. These two dietary animal fibers showed similar patterns in reducing the genotoxicity of aqueous solutions of the hydrophobic mutagens, 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide and dinitropyrene, in distilled water. Under similar conditions, the antigenotoxic activities of chitin and chitosan for mitomycin C were 87 and 0%, and those for adriamycin were 47 and 78%, respectively. In addition, the antigenotoxic activity of both fibers for MMC was affected by the pH value of the aqueous solution between 2.5 and 7.2, but that of ADM was not. The results demonstrate that chitin and chitosan may have protective effects against environmental mutagens by adsorbing them in ionic and nonionic solutions.

Studies on the role of specific dietary fibres in protection against colorectal cancer

Although dietary fibre is generally thought to protect against the development of colorectal cancer, some of the results of animal and epidemiological studies are equivocal. We believe that this may be because the term dietary fibre covers a range of complex materials and some may protect but others may not. Dietary fibre is mainly composed of plant cell walls which vary in composition and properties according cell type and plant species. In addition to polysaccharides, the walls of some plant cell types contain the hydrophobic polymers lignin or suberin. Two groups of mechanisms have been proposed for the way dietary fibres may protect against colorectal cancer: those in which the dietary fibre may act directly and those in which the dietary fibre may have an indirect effect as a consequence of it being degraded by colonic bacterial enzymes and the products fermented. Direct mechanisms include the adsorption of carcinogens onto undegraded dietary fibres which pass out of the intestinal tract in the faeces. we have shown that different types of plant cell walls adsorbed a range of carcinogens, including heterocyclic aromatic amines, to different extents. Cell walls that contained lignin or suberin adsorbed hydrophobic carcinogens particularly well. Furthermore, the presence of lignin, and probably suberin, in the walls makes them resistant to degradation in the colon. Wheat bran, which is a good source of dietary fibre, contains some cell types with lignified walls. We used Fischer-344 rats to test the ability of wheat bran to protect against the formation of aberrant crypts (which are considered to be precursors to colon cancer) caused by the heterocyclic aromatic amine, 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ). Our results indicate that wheat bran protects and probably does so by a direct mechanism.

Dietary effects on the uptake of benzo[a]pyrene

It has been established that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), or more specifically benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), either by inhalation through cigarette smoking or by contact through occupational exposure of the lungs or skin, can result in cancerous lesions. It appears that the general population consumes more B[a]P from food than from smoking. Despite this, epidemiological studies have not implicated B[a]P from foods as a causative factor in some human cancers. This lack of an epidemiological correlation between cancer incidence and intake of dietary PAHs/B[a]P could be due to some 'protective' or 'detoxification' mechanism. Despite the abundance of literature regarding the food content of B[a]P, there are few data concerning its uptake from foods. In the present study we investigated the intestinal absorption of B[a]P from foods using bile duct cannulated rats and radioactive B[a]P. [14C]B[a]P was first added to solvents such as water, corn oil, liquid paraffin or 50% ethanol, which were the administered by gavage to rats fed diets with or without added carbon. Additionally, food polyphenols such as quercetin and chlorogenic acid were also tested for their effect on the absorption of B[a]P. The results indicated that the excretion of B[a]P in the bile was reduced by water, carbon, quercetin and chlorogenic acid but was potentiated by corn oil. To complement the in vivo studies, some in vitro tests to investigate the efficiency of B[a]P extraction from different foods using water or oil as solvents were also performed. These tests indicated that extraction of B[a]P from foods was affected by the solvent. It is postulated that reduced solubility, physical adsorption and the formation of chemical adducts between B[a]P and some food ingredients, play a sporadic, although still not well determined, role in reducing the absorption of B[a]P from the gut. The results of these studies suggest that B[a]P absorption from the intestinal tract is markedly affected by dietary components, and that this may be a factor that contributes to the lack of an epidemiological correlation between some human cancers and the B[a]P content of foods.

The adsorption of a range of dietary carcinogens by alpha-cellulose, a model insoluble dietary fiber

One of the ways dietary fibers may protect against colorectal cancer is by adsorbing carcinogens and carrying them out of the digestive tract, thus lessening interaction of the carcinogens with the colonic tissue. We investigated this mechanism of action by testing in vitro the abilities of a range of carcinogens, including known animal colon carcinogens, to adsorb to alpha-cellulose, which we have used as a model insoluble dietary fiber. The carcinogens were N-nitroso-N-methylurea (NMU), benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and a number of heterocyclic aromatic amines which have been found in heated foods. It was found that the ability of a carcinogen to adsorb to alpha-cellulose is strongly related to the hydrophobicity of the carcinogen measured as the calculated logarithm of the partition coefficient between 1-octanol and water (C log P). The hydrophilic carcinogen, NMU, (C log P = -0.204), adsorbed only poorly, whereas the very hydrophobic carcinogen, B[a]P, (C log P = 6.124), adsorbed strongly. Carcinogens with intermediate hydrophobicities showed intermediate abilities to adsorb.

The effects of soluble-fiber polysaccharides on the adsorption of a hydrophobic carcinogen to an insoluble dietary fiber

Dietary fiber is believed to decrease the incidence of colorectal cancer, but not all types of fiber are equally protective. Dietary fibers may be divided broadly into insoluble and soluble fibers, and there is evidence from animal experiments that the latter not only fails to protect against colorectal cancer but may enhance its development. Adsorption of carcinogens to insoluble dietary fiber in the intestinal tract is one of the mechanisms by which dietary fiber is believed to protect against colorectal cancer. In previous in vitro experiments, we showed that the hydrophobic carcinogen 1,8-dinitropyrene (DNP) adsorbs to insoluble plant cell wall components (insoluble dietary fibers). Soluble polysaccharides (pectic polysaccharides) extracted from the walls of parenchyma cells of dicotyledonous plants were found to maintain DNP in aqueous solutions and decrease its adsorption to insoluble wall components. In the present study, we examined a commercial preparation of pectin and seven other soluble-fiber polysaccharides with diverse structures for their effects on the distribution of DNP. Many of these are used as emulsifiers and stabilizers in the food industry. They all maintained DNP in aqueous solution and decreased its adsorption to alpha-cellulose, which we used as an example of an insoluble dietary fiber. Gum arabic was the most effective and kappa-carrageenan the least. The capacity of the polysaccharides to act as emulsifiers and stabilizers may explain their effects on DNP distribution. The monosaccharide glucose and the disaccharide cellobiose had no effect on the distribution of DNP. These results indicate three possible mechanisms by which soluble-fiber polysaccharides may enhance the development of colorectal cancer. First, because they reduce the ability of insoluble dietary fibers to adsorb hydrophobic carcinogens, more carcinogens may enter the colon maintained in solution than adsorbed onto insoluble fibers. Second, if soluble-fiber polysaccharides are maintaining hydrophobic carcinogens in solution and these polysaccharides are degraded by bacterial enzymes in the colon, then the carcinogens may come out of solution and be deposited onto the mucosal surface of the colon. Third, soluble-fiber polysaccharides may cross the intestinal epithelium and carry with them carcinogens maintained in solution. These studies have important consequences for nutrition, because soluble-fiber polysaccharides represent a common component of foods.

In vitro adsorption of a hydrophobic mutagen to gastrointestinal mucus glycoprotein (mucin) and dietary fibre

The adsorption of mutagens by some dietary fibres has been suggested as one mechanism by which dietary fibres protect against colorectal cancer. It is thought that these dietary fibres carry the mutagen out of the digestive tract, decreasing the effective mutagen concentration to which epithelial cells are exposed. The ability of gastrointestinal mucin to alter the extent to which the hydrophobic mutagen 1,8-dinitropyrene (DNP) adsorbs in vitro onto the insoluble dietary fibre alpha-cellulose, was investigated. It was found that crude and purified human ileal mucins themselves adsorbed DNP and decreased the adsorption of DNP onto alpha-cellulose. Purified mucin which had been treated with trypsin also adsorbed DNP. These studies suggest that in the digestive tract there would be competition for the adsorption of DNP between mucin and insoluble dietary fibres, such as alpha-cellulose. This factor must be considered in predictions about the distribution of hydrophobic, mutagenic carcinogens in the digestive tract and their role in the etiology of colorectal cancer.

Reversible binding of the cooked food mutagen MeIQx to lignin-enriched preparations from wheat bran

The binding of the mutagen 3,8-dimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline-2-amine (MeIQx) to various fibre preparations from wheat bran was studied. The physical structures of wheat bran and lignin-enriched preparations were determined by scanning electron microscopy. With increasing mutagen concentration from 0.5-16 micrograms/ml, the fraction of MeIQx bound to cellulase-treated lignin was nearly constant, for a certain lignin density. The binding between cellulase-treated lignin and MeIQx was reversible. Incubation temperature influenced the rate at which the equilibrium between lignin and MeIQx was established, but had less effect on the equilibrium itself. With increasing fibre densities and a constant mutagen concentration, complete binding was apparently reached at a high fibre density. This was illustrated by plotting the data according to Scatchard. Increased binding of the MeIQx was obtained with increased enrichment of lignin in different fibre preparations.

Adsorption of a hydrophobic mutagen to dietary fiber from taro (Colocasia esculenta), an important food plant of the South Pacific

The incidence of colorectal cancer is lower in Polynesian populations of the South Pacific than in European populations. This difference in incidence of the disease may be, at least partly, related to diet. Dietary fiber is believed to protect against colorectal cancer, and one of the ways it may act is by adsorbing mutagens that are carcinogenic. Very little is known about the chemical composition or the ability to adsorb mutagens of these dietary fibers from South Pacific food plants. In contrast to European food plants, which are mostly dicotyledons, South Pacific food plants are mainly monocotyledons. We isolated cell walls (dietary fiber) from the three edible parts of taro (Colocasia esculenta), which is a monocotyledon and a major South Pacific food plant. The ability of these three unlignified cell-wall preparations to adsorb the hydrophobic environmental mutagen 1,8-dinitropyrene was studied. The greatest adsorption occurred with walls from leaf blade, followed by petiole and corm walls, although the differences were not major. The amount of adsorption was intermediate between the low adsorption previously found with unlignified dicotyledon walls (from the flesh of potato tubers and immature cabbage leaves) and the much higher adsorption found with unlignified walls from monocotyledons of the grass and cereal family (Poaceae) (from leaves of seedling Italian ryegrass). These data are consistent with the monosaccharide compositions of the taro wall preparations, which were more similar to those of unlignified walls of dicotyledons than to unlignified walls of the Poaceae. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the composition of the dietary fiber determines its adsorptive properties and that there may be important differences between the major dietary fibers of South Pacific and European food plants.

Adsorption of a hydrophobic mutagen to dietary fibre from the skin and flesh of potato tubers

One of the theories to explain the protective action of some dietary fibres against colon cancer is that certain mutagens and/or cancer promoters are adsorbed to these dietary fibres making the mutagens and/or cancer promoters less available to gut mucosal cells. The abilities of 2 contrasting cell wall preparations (dietary fibre preparations) from potato tubers to adsorb in vitro the hydrophobic mutagen, 1,8-dinitropyrene (DNP), were studied using an incubation mixture containing DNP in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Walls from potato skins strongly adsorbed DNP and, at the highest wall concentration tested, only a small porportion of the DNP remained in solution. In marked contrast to the skin walls, potato flesh walls adsorbed only a small proportion of the DNP. Unexpectedly, the flesh walls also caused a large increase in the proportion of DNP found in solution. When flesh walls were pre-extracted with PBS, the ability of the extracted walls to bind DNP increased. The material extracted from the flesh walls was able to maintain DNP in solution, when added to the incubation medium in the absence of cell walls. Pectic polysaccharides appear to be the soluble component responsible for maintaining the DNP in solution. Competition between soluble and insoluble fibre components may have major implications for the availability and distribution of hydrophobic mutagens in the alimentary tract.

Adsorption of a hydrophobic mutagen to five contrasting dietary fiber preparations

The ability of five plant cell wall (dietary fiber) preparations with contrasting compositions to adsorb in vitro the hydrophobic, environmental mutagen, 1,8-dinitropyrene (DNP), was investigated. Many of the fruits and vegetables in Western diets are from dicotyledonous (broad leaved) plants and the dietary fiber from these consists mainly of unlignified cell walls. A representative of this wall type, prepared from immature cabbage leaves, showed little ability to adsorb DNP. Two other cell-wall preparations, representing lignified walls of dicotyledons and unlignified walls of vegetative parts of grasses and cereals (monocotyledons belonging to the family Poaceae), adsorbed DNP much more effectively. However, two further preparations, representing suberized walls of cork cells and lignified walls of vegetative parts of grasses and cereals, were the most effective in adsorbing DNP. Extrapolation of these data to the in vivo situation would indicate that increased consumption of the vegetative parts of grasses or cereals and plant material containing cork cells, for example potato skins, could be effective in removing hydrophobic mutagens from potential contact with colonic mucosal cells.

Effects of bile salts on the adsorption of a hydrophobic mutagen to dietary fiber

The effect of the bile salts, sodium cholate, deoxycholate, glycocholate and taurocholate, on the solubility in aqueous solution of the hydrophobic, environmental mutagen, 1,8-dinitropyrene (DNP), was examined. In the absence of bile salts, the DNP appeared to precipitate out of solution, whereas bile salts at a concentration of greater than or equal to 4 mM maintained the DNP in solution. In the presence of the model dietary fiber, alpha-cellulose, the DNP absorbed to this preferentially. Bile salts reduced this adsorption at low alpha-cellulose levels, but had little effect at high alpha-cellulose levels. The implication of these results is that bile salts have solubilising properties that could affect the distribution of hydrophobic molecules, including mutagens, in the digestive tract.