Abstract
Backgroundprevious studies have shown that non-digestible inulin-type fructan intake can increase intestinal mineral absorption in both humans and animals. However, this stimulatory effect on intestinal absorption may depend on experimental conditions such as duration of fermentable fiber intake, mineral diet levels and animals' physiological status, in particular their age.Objectivesthe aim of this study was to determine the effect of inulin intake on Ca and Mg absorption in rats at different age stages.Methodseighty male Wistar rats of four different ages (2, 5, 10 and 20 months) were randomized into either a control group or a group receiving 3.75% inulin in their diet for 4 days and then 7.5% inulin for three weeks. The animals were fed fresh food and water ad libitum for the duration of the experiment. Intestinal absorption of Ca and Mg was determined by fecal monitoring using stable isotopic tracers. Ca and Mg status was also assessed.Resultsabsorption of Ca and Mg was significantly lower in the aged rats (10 and 20 mo) than in the young and adult rat groups. As expected, inulin intake increased Ca and Mg absorption in all four rat groups. However, inulin had a numerically greater effect on Ca absorption in aged rats than in younger rats whereas its effect on Mg absorption remained similar across all four rat age groups.Conclusionthe extent of the stimulatory effect of inulin on absorption of Ca may differ according to animal ages. Further studies are required to explore this effect over longer inulin intake periods, and to confirm these results in humans.
Highlights
When non-digestible inulin-type fructans reach the large intestine, they are fermented by the local microflora and stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which may have health-promoting functions [1,2,3]
Previous studies have repeatedly shown that intake of different inulin-type fructans can variably increase mineral intestinal absorption in humans and animals [4,5,17,18,19]
Inulin-type fructans strongly and consistently increase intestinal Mg absorption [12], whereas their effect on Ca absorption seems to be dependent on experimental conditions such as inulin type, dietary Ca levels, duration of fructan intake [20,21,22] and the animals' physiological state, age
Summary
When non-digestible inulin-type fructans reach the large intestine, they are fermented by the local microflora and stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which may have health-promoting functions [1,2,3]. It is thought that the bacterial metabolites (e.g. butyrate) can stimulate the intestinal epithelium and increase its absorptive capacity [10] These various factors are closely linked to the nature of the prebiotic carbohydrates and to experimental conditions [7,11,12]. We investigated the relationship between animal age and the stimulatory effect of inulin on intestinal absorption and retention of Ca and Mg using a stable isotope approach following short-term administration of inulin in rats aged from 2 to 20 months This is the first time that the effect of inulin is studied in rats using a stable isotope approach
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