Inhibition of Experimental Liver Cancer in Rats by Addition of an Adsorbent to the Diet.

Summary

The relatively indigestible fractions of yeast, liver, and rice bran efficiently adsorb butter yellow (paradimethylaminoazobenzene) and thus remove this carcinogen from solution in vitro. In order to determine whether an adsorbent alone might confer protection against carcinogenesis, a riboflavin-free adsorbent clay, montmorillonite, was added to a diet containing butter yellow and fed to 20 young rats. During 175 days of feeding, only one of the 20 animals developed a palpable liver tumor, whereas 18 of 20 control rats developed such a tumor. That a considerable portion of the carcinogen was eliminated by adsorption upon the clay was indicated by the observation that the rats receiving the clay excreted 53% less carcinogenic dye in the urine than did the animals receiving no montmorillonite.