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Consumption of Raw Potato Starch Alters Intestinal Function and Colonic Cell Proliferation in the Rat^1,2,

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Experimental Nutrition Branch, Washington, D.C. 20204

Raw potato starch (RPS) may escape complete digestion to enter the colon and produce alterations in colonic function, while cooked potato starch (CPS) is nearly completely digested in the rat small intestine. Effects of RPS and CPS on colonic function [fecal weight, transmit time and thymidine kinase (TK) activity (a marker for cell proliferation)] were contrasted in a 6-wk feeding study. Male F344 rats consumed either dextrose/sucrose (DS; control), 30% CPS or 30% RPS diet. RPS feeding resulted in a 3-fold increase in fecal weight and a 30% prolongation in transit time, as well as elevated levels of colonic mucosal total protein (50%) and TK activity (4- to 7-fold) compared to DS-fed rats. A second study revealed normal large intestinal histology in rats fed CPS or RPS, with elongated colonic crypts (33% increased over CPS) in group RPS. Large intestinal contents were heavier in group RPS than in group CPS. These studies demonstrate that RPS feeding significantly enhances fecal weight yet prolongs total gastrointestinal transit time. Enhanced colonic TK and elongated colonic crypts suggest that RPS stimulates colonic mucosal growth.

KEY WORDS: • potato starch • colonic function • transit time • fecal weight • cell proliferation • thymidine kinase activity • male Fischer rats

¹ Supported by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. M. Otsuka received salary support from an Uehara Memorial Fellowship during her tenure as an FDA Visiting Scientist from April 1987 to April 1988.

² Presented in part at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, March 19–23, 1989, New Orleans, LA. [Otsuka, M., Satchithanandam, S., and Calvert, R. J. (1989) Raw potato starch induces alterations in transit time, colonic thymidine kinase, and fecal bulk. FASEB J. 3: A1069 (abs.)].

³ Present address: Ochanomizu University, Dept. of Food and Nutrition, 2-1-1, Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 112.

Manuscript received 13 January 1989. Revision accepted 14 July 1989.