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Apples Prevent Mammary Tumors in Rats
Rui Hai Liu, Jiaren Liu, and Bingqing Chen
Department of Food Science, and Institute of Comparative and
Environmental Toxicology, Stocking Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New
York 14853-7201
Received for review January 4, 2005. Revised manuscript received
February 10, 2005. Accepted February 11, 2005.
Abstract:
Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables has been consistently shown
to be associated with reduced risk of developing chronic diseases such as
cancer and cardiovascular disease. Apples are commonly consumed and are the
major contributors of phytochemicals in human diets. It was previously
reported that apple extracts exhibit
strong antioxidant and
antiproliferative activities
and that the major part of total antioxidant activity is from the
combination of phytochemicals. Phytochemicals, including
phenolics
and flavonoids, are suggested to be the bioactive compounds
contributing to the health benefits of apples. Here it is shown that
whole apple extracts prevent
mammary cancer in a rat model in a dose-dependent manner at doses comparable
to human consumption of one, three, and six apples a day. This study
demonstrated that whole apple
extracts effectively inhibited mammary cancer growth in the rat model;
thus, consumption of apples may be an effective strategy for cancer
protection.
Keywords: Diet and cancer; phytochmicals; cancer prevention; breast
cancer; fruits
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