Cancer-preventive Properties of an Anthocyanin-enriched Sweet Potato in the APC Mouse Model.

Background: Anthocyanin-rich foods and preparations have been reported to reduce the risk of life-style related diseases, including cancer. The SL222 sweet potato, a purple-fleshed cultivar developed in New Zealand, accumulates high levels of anthocyanins in its storage root.

Methods: We examined the chemopreventative properties of the SL222 sweet potato in the C57BL/6J-APC (APC) mouse, a genetic model of colorectal cancer. APC and C57BL/6J wild-type mice (n=160) were divided into four feeding groups consuming diets containing 10% SL222 sweet potato flesh, 10% SL222 sweet potato skin, or 0.12% ARE (Anthocyanin rich-extract prepared from SL222 sweet potato at a concentration equivalent to the flesh-supplemented diet) or a control diet (AIN-76A) for 18 weeks. At 120 days of age, the mice were anaesthetised, and blood samples were collected before the mice were sacrificed. The intestines were used for adenoma enumeration.

Results: The SL222 sweet potato-supplemented diets reduced the adenoma number in the APC mice.

Conclusions: These data have significant implications for the use of this sweet potato variant in protection against colorectal cancer.