A diet including xanthan gum triggers a pro-inflammatory response in Wistar rats inoculated with Walker 256 cells

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding xanthan gum to the diet of rats on the production of cytokines and pro-inflammatory factors and on tumor development in rats inoculated with Walker 256 tumor cells. Fifty-six rats were divided into 4 groups: control diet (C), control diet with tumor (TC), xanthan gum diet (XG), xanthan gum diet with tumor (TXG). The ingestion of xanthan gum promotes changes in cytokine content: increasing IL-6 TNF-α and IL-10 in retroperitoneal adipose tissue compared to the control group; and increasing TNF-α in the mesenteric adipose tissue compared to the C and TXG groups. On the contrary, the addition of xanthan gum to the diet did not affect the development of Walker 256 tumors in rats. The continuous use of xanthan gum triggered a pro-inflammatory response, promoting an increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines in the adipose tissue, but it did not have an effect on the tumor development in the animals inoculated with Walker 256 tumor cells.