Dietary Alkali-stable Neutral Lipids from Sake Lees Suppress the Formation of Colon Aberrant Crypt Foci in Mice.

We have previously reported that dietary glucosylceramide (GlcCer) and rice extracts containing GlcCer reduce the formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colons of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-treated mice, as a precursor model of colon cancer. This study investigated the impact of alkali-stable neutral lipids (NLs) containing free ceramides (Cer) and sterols on the formation of ACF in mice for the purpose of searching for functional components, irrespective of GlcCer, in rice extracts. The fraction was prepared from sake lees as a rice fermentation byproduct. Dietary NLs suppressed the marked increase in colon ACF treated with DMH.