Abstract

The inclusion in rat diets of raw kidney beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris variety “Processor”) containing high levels of lectins resulted in a dramatic overgrowth of Escherichia coli in the small intestine. No overgrowth occurred when the beans fed to rats were of a low-lectin variety. The hypothesis is presented that kidney bean lectins may indirectly or directly enhance the virulence of coliform strains either through aggregation and elimination of competitive strains or by agglutination of certain strains of E. coli to one another and to the mucosal surfaces of the gut. Severe disruption of microvilli precedes and accompanies the proliferation of E. coli and it is possible that malabsorption provides a suitable growth substrate for intestinal bacteria, augmented by cell fragments in the form of microvilli, and possibly also by cellular exudates due to loss of polarization in membrane transport systems.

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