Dietary nanosized Lactobacillus plantarum enhances the anticancer effect of kimchi on azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium-induced colon cancer in C57BL/6J mice

This study was undertaken to evaluate enhancement of the chemopreventive properties of kimchi by dietary nanosized Lactobacillus (Lab.) plantarum (nLp) in an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)– induced colitis-associated colorectal cancer C57BL/6J mouse model. nLp is a dead, shrunken, processed form of Lab. plantarum isolated from kimchi that is 0.5–1.0 μm in size. The results obtained showed that animals fed kimchi with nLp (K-nLp) had longer colons and lower colon weights/length ratios and developed fewer tumors than mice fed kimchi alone (K). In addition, K-nLp administration reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokine serum levels and mediated the mRNA and protein expressions of inflammatory, apoptotic, and cell-cycle markers to suppress inflammation and induce tumor-cell apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest. Moreover, it elevated natural killer-cell cytotoxicity. The study suggests adding nLp to kimchi could improve the suppressive effect of kimchi on AOM/DSS-induced colorectal cancer. These findings indicate nLp has potential use as a functional chemopreventive ingredient in the food industry.