the intestine of weanling rats have suggested that the bacterial flora may adapt to the presence of a bulking agent and more fully convert it to absorbable nutrients upon prolonged exposure (Grossklaus et al., 1984). However, fatty acids were quantitated only at single time points and therefore reflect the rates but not necessarily the extent of fatty acid formation. Moreover, those observations may not be relevant to older animals, since development of the adult pattern of intestinal transport mechanisms in the rat only begins in the third week (Batt and Schachter, 1969). Comparisons between single dose studies and studies in mature rats that had received daily doses for 90 days suggest that changes do not occur with an agent such as polydextrose (Figdor and Rennhard, 1981). Of particular relevance, studies in adult humans following repeated doses of polydextrose for 7 days yielded caloric utilization values similar to those in rats receiving single doses (Figdor and Bianchine, 1983). Studies in adult rats (or humans) presumably started with intestinal flora able to digest the bulking agents as well as was possible under these circumstances. The absence of adaptation in disposition studies is therefore not unexpected.
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