Effect of Sugar Alcohols on Gut Function and Body Composition in Normal and Cecectomized Rats

Abstract

Abstract:The effects of two sugar alcohols on feed utilization, digesta retention, gut fermentation and serum lipid profiles were compared in normal and cecectomized rats to examine the possibility of the cecectomized rat as an experimental animal with relevance to humans. Semi-purified diets containing no sugar alcohol, 7% sorbitol or 7% lactitol were fed to normal and cecectomized rats for 16 days. The digestibility of the crude fat and the compositions of the carcass dry matter and crude fat were significantly decreased by feeding sugar alcohols in both groups, but the effects were relatively higher in the cecectomized rats than in the normal rats. Diarrhea, faster transit times and shorter retention times of digesta were noted in the cecectomized rats fed sugar alcohols, while the inverse results were observed in the normal rats fed similar diets. The concentration of cecal organic acids was increased in the normal rats, whereas the concentration of colonic organic acids was decreased in the cecectomized rats fed sugar alcohols, compared with their corresponding control groups. The concentration of serum total cholesterol was decreased in both the normal and cecectomized rats fed diets containing sugar alcohols. The tendencies for diarrhea, faster digesta transit and reduced body fat induced by the fermentable materials in the cecectomized rat have good relevance to the parallel effects of fermentable materials in humans, suggesting the possibility of using the cecectomized rat as a model to study some of the physiological effects of sugar alcohols in humans.

Mannitol Lowers Fat Digestibility and Body Fat Accumulation in Both Normal and Cecectomized Rats

“…The small intestinal transit time of lactitol (24,25) and gastrointestinal transit times of sorbitol and maltitol (26) in normal rats are reduced in dose-dependent manners. Furthermore, significantly shorter mean retention and transit times of digesta in cecectomized rats fed sorbitoland lactitol-containing diets compared to those in normal rats have been reported (12). Therefore, the lowered digestibilities of fat and protein observed in rats fed mannitol and FOS may be at least partially due to faster transit of digesta in the digestive tract, or inhibitory effects of mannitol on lipase activity and/or micelle formation and a stimulatory effect on microbial proliferation in the large intestine.…”

“…Mannitol consumption also decreased the digestibilities of crude fat and crude protein in cecectomized rats. In cecectomized rats, microbial multiplication and fermentation in the large intestine are very low and no differences were observed in colonic fermentation after feeding of fermentable sugar alcohols, sorbitol or lactitol (12). Therefore, we considered that the observed increases in microbial protein and fat excretion in the feces after mannitol feeding were low in cecectomized rats.…”

“…In the same study, we showed that cecectomy modified the effects of sugar alcohols, sorbitol and lactitol on digesta retention and gut fermentation in rats ( 12 ). Some of these physiological and metabolic effects may be caused by metabolites produced through microbial fermentation in the large intestine, since SCFAs have many important functions in lipid and energy metabolism ( 13 , 14 ).…”

Influencia del consumo de sorbitol en la microbiota intestinal de un modelo animal

“…Estos resultados muestran que la presencia de sorbitol y FOS en el agua disminuye ligeramente el consumo de ésta, siendo importante destacar que ninguno de los animales presentó signos aparentes de deshidratación. Aunque el excesivo consumo de azúcares alcohol se ha descrito que tiene efecto laxante (Islam et al, 2004) la consistencia de las heces en los tres grupos es aparentemente igual y el porcentaje de humedad presente en las Heces-Final y el contenido del ciego de los animales de los tres grupos no muestra diferencias significativas, solo el contenido del colon de las ratas alimentadas con sorbitol y FOS tiene un porcentaje de hidratación significativamente mayor en relación al grupo-control (Tabla 4).…”

“…En rumen cultivado y enriquecido con sorbitol, se observó un desplazamiento por exclusión competitiva de nutrientes de Escherichia coli O157:H7 (de Vaux et al, 2002). La concentración de colesterol total en suero, decreció, en ratas alimentadas con una dieta que contenía azúcares alcohol incluido el sorbitol (Islam et al, 2004).…”