Canola Oil Protects Against Colon Cancer in Rat Model

A study conducted on a population of laboratory bred Fischer rats showed that canola oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, reduced the size and incidence of colon tumors in these animals.

Investigators at South Dakota State University (Brookings, USA) continued work that had already determined that fats containing omega-6 fatty acids (e.g., corn oil) enhanced and omega-3 fatty acids (e.g., flaxseed oil) reduced chemically induced colon tumor development in rats. They extended the study to canola oil, as canola oil is more compatible with the American oil than is flaxseed oil.

"The advantage of canola is it can be used for day to day cooking, frying, and anything else, in contrast to the flax,” said senior author Dr. Chandradhar Dwivedi, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at South Dakota State University. "You could not use flax oil for frying. If people start using canola oil, replacing other oils with canola oil, it gives them the advantage of including omega-3s in their diet.”

Results published in the February 2011 issue of the journal Nutrition and Cancer revealed that dietary canola oil significantly decreased colonic tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity as compared to dietary corn oil in rats. Fatty acid analysis of colon and serum samples from the rats showed that the corn oil group had higher levels of omega-6 fatty acid levels, whereas the canola oil groups exhibited higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Cyclooxygenase -2 (COX-2) expression in colon samples from the canola oil group was significantly lower as compared to the corn oil group. COX-2 is linked to the inflammatory response and may be associated with cancer development.

"This is the first time anyone has done work on the effect of canola oil in animals on colon cancer prevention. Canola oil was able to reduce the incidence of colon cancer in animals almost to one-third,” said Dr. Dwivedi.

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South Dakota State University