The effects of dietary factors on mutation: Dietary restriction and a Western diet

Because the role of mutation in the development of cancer is widely accepted (Lipkin et al., 1999; Go et al., 2001; Setlow, 2001), measurements of mutations are more practical than studies of carcinogenesis. Cancer studies are very expensive, require a lot of mice, and take a very long time. In our search for novel methods of cancer prevention, we investigated the anti-carcinogenic properties of dietary restriction and the carcinogenic effects of a Western diet.

In our studies, there was no significant difference in ENU-induced or spontaneous mutant frequencies in the small intestine. There was a difference in eating patterns between the ad libitum and the dietarily restricted mice, where the dietarily restricted mice ate their food all at once whereas the ad libitum-fed mice ate their food sporadically throughout the day. Nevertheless, mice trained to eat in a 2 to 4 hour period did not show any significant difference in spontaneous mutant frequency. No association was found between dietary restriction and mutation rate.

The Western diet administered during development and adulthood resulted in no significant difference in spontaneous mutant frequency. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)