Azoxymethane-Induced Colorectal Cancer Mice Treated with a Polyphenol-Rich Apple Extract Show Less Neoplastic Lesions and Signs of Cachexia

Obesity is considered a risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer. In rodents, high-fat (HF) diets are able to increase the formation of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced polyps. Polyphenol-rich apple extracts have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and may induce an amelioration of the manifestations of colorectal cancer. Twenty-seven male Crl:CD-1 mice received AOM during four weeks and were subsequently divided into three groups fed a HF diet (n = 9 each group): a non-supplemented group, a second group supplemented with apple extract at 1%, and a third group supplemented with the same apple extract at 1.5%. Energy metabolism and the respiratory quotient were not affected by the supplementation with the apple extract. Although body weight was not affected by the treatment, the mice supplemented with the apple extract showed less signs of cachexia than the non-treated mice. In the intestine, the mice supplemented with the apple extract showed lower sucrase, dipeptidyl-peptidase IV, and aminopeptidase N activities, and less intestinal lesions (aberrant crypt foci and polyps). Administration of a polyphenol-rich apple extract reduces the number of neoplastic lesions in mice with AOM-induced colorectal cancer and contributes to preserve adipose tissue mass.