Modulation by dietary factors of BHA-induced alterations in cell kinetics of gastro-intestinal tract tissues in rats.

To determine the effects of dietary ethanol or fibre on 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA)-induced alterations in cell kinetics in gastro-intestinal tract tissues, groups of six male Wistar rats were fed diets containing 0% (control) or 1.5% BHA for 2 wk. One group fed 1.5% BHA and one pair-fed control group received 10% ethanol in the drinking-water; two similarly fed groups received drinking-water only. Another group fed 1.5% BHA and a pair-fed control group received a diet supplemented with 20% cellulose; two similar groups received no fibre supplementation. Cell kinetics in the forestomach, glandular stomach and oesophageal tissue were determined, after 14 days, by bivariate 5-bromo-deoxyuridine/DNA analysis using immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry. In the fibre experiment, colorectal tissue was also examined. In both experiments the labelling indices in all the gastro-intestinal tract tissues were significantly altered in the BHA-fed groups compared with the corresponding control groups. In the ethanol experiment no statistically significant difference in the labelling indices was observed in the forestomach or glandular stomach between the two control groups or between the two BHA-fed groups. However, intake of ethanol-supplemented drinking-water induced increases in oesophageal labelling indices in rats fed a BHA-free diet. Thus 14 days of simultaneous ethanol administration has no effect on BHA-induced alterations in cell kinetics in the oesophagus, glandular stomach or forestomach of rats. In the forestomach and colorectal tissue, a high-cellulose diet resulted in a significant decrease in the BHA-induced elevation of labelling indices. Thus dietary cellulose provides a partial protection against the proliferation-enhancing effects of BHA in the rat gastro-intestinal tract.