Tamarind extract and colon cancer risk in hamsters
What it found
Tamarind extract lowered the risk of colon cancer by 63.8% in hamsters fed a high-cholesterol diet and exposed to a cancer-causing chemical.
The risk was still about 51% higher than in animals eating a regular diet.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Colon cancer risk reduced
In hamsters given a high-cholesterol diet and a cancer-causing chemical, tamarind extract lowered the risk of colon cancer by 63.8%. However, their risk remained about 51% higher than in animals on a regular diet.
Liver damage markers fell
Tamarind lowered signs of liver damage in hamsters on a high-cholesterol diet that were exposed to the cancer-causing chemical. It also reduced DNA damage in liver cells.
Antioxidant effects in liver
In the liver and blood of these hamsters, tamarind reduced fat breakdown caused by free radicals. It also boosted natural antioxidant enzymes in those tissues.
No antioxidant effect in colon
Unlike in the liver, tamarind did not change fat breakdown or boost antioxidant defenses in the colon tissue of the hamsters.
More cholesterol in stool
Hamsters given tamarind passed significantly more cholesterol out in their stool compared to those without it.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that tamarind extract has protective activity against the development of colon cancer in this animal model.
- They note that a high-cholesterol diet weakens this protection, so tamarind could not fully counter the cancer-promoting effects of extra dietary cholesterol.
- They call for further studies on this topic.
How it was done
The authors previously found that tamarind protected hamsters with high cholesterol from artery disease. Because high cholesterol might raise colon cancer risk, they wanted to see if tamarind could also lower that risk.
They studied 64 male hamsters for 10 weeks. The animals were split into four groups eating either a regular diet or a high-cholesterol diet, with or without tamarind extract. Half of each group received a single injection of a cancer-causing chemical at week eight.
What it can’t tell you
- These results come from hamsters injected with a cancer-causing chemical, so they cannot show what happens in people who eat tamarind.
- A 10-week animal study cannot reveal long-term effects of eating tamarind over many years.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil; University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; São Paulo State University, Brazil
The paper
- Title
- Chemopreventive effects of a Tamarindus indica fruit extract against colon carcinogenesis depends on the dietary cholesterol levels in hamsters
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Martinello F, Kannen V, Franco JJ, et al (2017). Chemopreventive effects of a Tamarindus indica fruit extract against colon carcinogenesis depends on the dietary cholesterol levels in hamsters. Food and chemical toxicology. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2017.07.005Free full textPubMed 28687269DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error