Effect of a hyperlipidic diet rich in omegas 3, 6 and 9 on aberrant crypt formation in rat colonic mucosa

purpose: to determine whether a hypercaloric and hyperlipidic diet enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids influences the formation of aberrant crypt foci (acf) in colonic mucosa of wistar rats treated with azoxymethane (aom). methods: at eight weeks of life, the rats were assigned to four groups: group i―standard diet (std) not treated with aom; group ii―hypercaloric and hyperlipidic diet (fed), not treated with aom; group iii―std, treated with aom; group iv―fed, treated with aom. at 16 weeks, the animals were injected intraperitoneal with 0.9% saline solution (group i and ii) or aom at 15mg/kg (groups iii and iv) once a week for two weeks. fifteen weeks later, the animals were euthanized. results: fed promoted weight gain in groups ii and iv compared to groups i and iii, respectively. the groups did not differ with regard to the total number of acf. the chi-square test revealed no predominance of the presence of foci with <4 crypts. however, foci with ≥5 crypts were proportionally more prevalent in group iii than in group iv (p=0.043). conclusion: the administration of polyunsaturated fatty acids did not interfere with the formation of aberrant crypt foci, but reduced acf multiplicity, exercising an attenuating effect on carcinogenesis.