QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Leichter, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Leichter, J.

Effect of Dietary Lactose on Intestinal Lactase Activity in Young Rats^{1, 2,}

Division of Human Nutrition, School of Home Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

To study the effect of dietary lactose on the postweaning decrease in intestinal lactase activity in the rat, mothers with their 1-day-old litters received either a 30% lactose diet or a lactose-free diet containing an equivalent amount of glucose and galactose. The young rats were removed from their mothers at 21 days of age. Lactase, sucrase, and maltase activities were determined in jejunal segments from rats on the two dietary regimens at weekly intervals from 2 to 11 weeks of age. The jejunal lactase activity declined to the low level characteristic of the adult rat between weeks 3 and 4 of life, and there were no significant differences in lactase activity between the controls and lactose-fed rats throughout the entire experiment. Sucrase and maltase activities reached the high levels present in adults when the rats were between 4 and 5 weeks, and 3 weeks of age, respectively. As in the case of lactase activity, no significant differences were found in the jejunal sucrase and maltase levels between the two groups of animals. These findings do not support the hypothesis that intestinal lactase activity can be regulated by administration of dietary lactose.

KEY WORDS: • dietary lactose • intestinal lactase

¹ Supported by Grant no. A6249 from the National Research Council of Canada.

² Presented in part at the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies, Quebec City, 1972, Federation Proc. 15: 57 (abstr.).

Manuscript received 10 August 1972.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K.-Y. Yeh and F. Moog Intestinal Lactase Activity in the Suckling Rat: Influence of Hypophysectomy and Thyroidectomy Science, January 11, 1974; 183(4120): 77 - 79. [Abstract] [PDF]