Abstract

After cardiovascular disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the Western world. The World Health Organisation estimates that one third of all occurrences of cancer are preventable, largely through the cessation of smoking, but also by dietary modification and prevention the exposure to carcinogens. (http://www.who.int/cancer/en/). The role of diet in the aetiology of cancer has been established in many epidemiological studies including the protective effect of diets high in fruit and vegetables. Anthocyanin rich foods have been shown to be chemopreventative in many animal models of cancer, and epidemiological evidence suggests they can also function in this role in humans. In my study, the potential chemopreventative properties of Purple Sweet Potato (PSP), called Kumara in New Zealand, which contains high levels of anthocyanins and can realistically be consumed in the human diet in larger quantities than most other anthocyanic foods, were investigated. The ability of PSP to prevent adenoma formation in the APCMIN mouse, which is a genetic model of Colorectal cancer (CRC), along with the potentially underlying mechanisms of action, was examined.