Effect of Indigestible Polysaccharides on Accumulation of Pentachlorobenzene in Rats

Abstract

The present experiments were conducted to examine the effect of indigestible polysaccharides on the accumulation of pentachlorobenzene (PECB) in rats.Male Sprague Dawley rats (aged 5 weeks old and weighing 137g) were fed diets containing 5% each of cellulose, apple pectin, locust bean gum, sodium alginate and guar gum, and non-fiber diet for 3 weeks. They were administered PECB (200mg/kg body weight) with 4g of the corresponding diet and kept on the same diets for 2 weeks. PECB concentrations in blood were higher in rats fed the guar gum and sodium alginate diets until day 2, while they were lowered in both groups after day 3. Significant reductions of accumulated PECB in the liver, kidney and adipose tissue were observed in rats fed the guar gum and sodium alginate diets. Fecal excretions of PECB were high in rats fed the guar gum and apple pectin diets. The total excreted amounts in 5 days were only 0.15% to 0.52% of the dose in rats on all diets. The weight of adipose tissue decreased in rats fed the guar gum diet, and triglyceride in the liver tended to be lower in rats fed the guar gum and sodium alginate diets.The results suggest that feeding of indigestible polysaccharides may reduce the accumulation of fat-soluble xenobiotics in organs and tissues and the mechanism may be related to the amount of adipose tissue or the metabolism of triglyceride.