Apples May Keep Colon Cancer Away

A new laboratory study published in the journal Nutrition has demonstrated that both apple pectin and polyphenol-rich apple juice components enhance biological mechanisms that produce butyrate, an anticarcinogenic compound, during the fermentation process that occurs in the colon.

Butyrate has been suggested to be a chemopreventative metabolite that might prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancer, which is very common in Western industrialized countries. It is a short chain fatty acid which is seen as a major factor contributing to healthy colon mucosa. The research notes, “Butyrate not only serves as a major nutrient for the colon epithelia but is also thought to play an important role in the protective effect of natural fiber against colorectal cancer.”

So how do apple pectin and apple juice extracts play a role in increasing amounts of butyrate? The laboratory tests performed by Schrenk found that by the increased production of butyrate via the addition of apple components, histone deacetlyases (HDAC) were inhibited. With slowed production of HDAC, there would be significantly less growth of precancerous and tumor cells.

Note though that these findings were based on laboratory models. And though apple peels have indeed been found to bear many anti-cancer compounds, further studies are necessary to confirm their impact in vivo.

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