New research brings to the table why diets high in fiber can reduce the risk of developing colon cancer, suggesting that supplements such as niacin (vitamin B3), which is commonly used to regulate cholesterol, can help maintain health colon in people on low fiber diets. The study has been published in the journal Immunity .
For their work, a team of researchers from Georgia Regents University (USA) conducted an experiment with mice, discovering that mice in which the Gpr109a receptor had disappeared were more likely to develop inflammation and colon cancer . By distributing niacin to mice that did not have a healthy colon, they found that vitamin B3 helped activate immune cells; that is, the digestion of the fiber caused an activation of the receptor of the immune cells of the organism of the mice.
According to experts, this happens because the digestion of fiber leads to the production of a specific fatty acid, butyrate, which activates the Gpr109a receptor ; thus, butyrate triggers the activation of this receptor in the immune cells of the colon that produce anti-inflammatory molecules and in turn transmit signals to the T cells that renew the order of production of more anti-inflammatory molecules.
“We believe that mega-doses of niacin may be useful in the treatment or prevention of ulcerative colitis , Crohn’s disease, and colorectal cancer, as well as familial adenomatous polyposis, or FAP, a genetic condition that causes polyps to develop in the entire gastrointestinal tract, ”explains Nagendra Singh, a co-author of the study.
