Zeng H, Lazarova DL, Bordonaro M. Mechanisms linking dietary fiber, gut microbiota and colon cancer prevention. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2014; 6(2): 41-51 [PMID: 24567795 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v6.i2.41]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Huawei Zeng, PhD, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, 2420 2nd Ave. North, Grand Forks, ND 58203, United States. huawei.zeng@ars.usda.gov
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Feb 15, 2014; 6(2): 41-51 Published online Feb 15, 2014. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v6.i2.41
Mechanisms linking dietary fiber, gut microbiota and colon cancer prevention
Huawei Zeng, Darina L Lazarova, Michael Bordonaro
Huawei Zeng, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND 58203, United States
Darina L Lazarova, Michael Bordonaro, Department of Basic Sciences, The Commonwealth Medical College, Scranton, PA 18509, United States
Author contributions: Zeng H conceived the topic, contributed to the writing and revising, and provided overall design and execution of the manuscript; Lazarova DL and Bordonaro M contributed to the writing and revising the manuscript.
Supported by The United States Department of Agriculture
Correspondence to: Huawei Zeng, PhD, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, 2420 2nd Ave. North, Grand Forks, ND 58203, United States. huawei.zeng@ars.usda.gov
Telephone: +1-701-7958465 Fax: +1-701-7958220
Received: November 25, 2013 Revised: December 27, 2013 Accepted: January 15, 2014 Published online: February 15, 2014
Abstract
Many epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that dietary fiber plays an important role in colon cancer prevention. These findings may relate to the ability of fiber to reduce the contact time of carcinogens within the intestinal lumen and to promote healthy gut microbiota, which modifies the host’s metabolism in various ways. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which dietary fiber-dependent changes in gut microbiota enhance bile acid deconjugation, produce short chain fatty acids, and modulate inflammatory bioactive substances can lead to a better understanding of the beneficial role of dietary fiber. This article reviews the current knowledge concerning the mechanisms via which dietary fiber protects against colon cancer.
Core tip: Dietary fiber modulates our health at nearly every level, and in every organ system, via complicated modes of action. This article reviews the mechanistic association of dietary fiber, gut microbiota and colon cancer prevention.
