Abstract
Colorectal cancer is a life-threatening disease. This study evaluates whether sour coconut (<i>Butia capitata</i>) prevents the appearance of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon of rats, induced with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH). The test subjects were divided into four treatment groups: I - Control; II - aqueous extract of sour coconut pulp; III - DMH and IV - Aqueous extract of sour coconut pulp + DMH. The colons of the subjects were submitted to ACF count, analysis of gene expression and histopathological. The count of ACF differed in the proximal portion of the colon between animals treated III and IV, with a lower count in Treatment IV (<i>p <0.05</i>). The interleukin-1 (<i>IL-1</i>) gene (<i>p <0.05</i>) was less expressed in Treatment IV. In the histopalogic analysis of the colons in Treatment IV, less dilation was observed at the base of the crypts and the lumen was moderately dilated. The sour coconut acted in preventing the appearance of ACF, probably due to its high composition in bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E. The anti-inflammatory capacity reduces the expression of the <i>IL-1</i> gene and preserves the histo-architecture of the colon.