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Dietary Polydextrose Affects the Large Intestine in Rats^1,2,

Laboratory of Biochemistry of Exercise and Nutrition, Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan

We compared the effects of dietary polydextrose with those of dietary fibers on the luminal pH and morphology of the large intestine in rats. In Experiment 1, animals were fed diets supplemented with two levels (5 and 10 g/100 g) of polydextrose or dietary fiber (cellulose or galactomannan derivatives) for 52 d. Polydextrose and galactomannan derivatives significantly lowered large intestinal pH and increased the cecal weight and surface area compared with cellulose. However, the thickness of the cecal muscular layer was significantly less in the polydextrose-fed groups than in the cellulose-fed groups. In Experiment 2, rats were fed either a fiber-free diet or a diet containing 5, 10 or 20 g/100 g polydextrose for 92 d. Dietary polydextrose significantly acidified the cecal contents and promoted cecal mucosal growth but thinned the cecal muscular layer. The shape of colonic mucosa of the group fed the 20 g/100 g polydextrose diet was clearly different from that of the group fed the fiber-free diet. These findings indicate that the effect of polydextrose on the morphology of the large intestine is different from the effect of dietary fibers.

KEY WORDS: • polydextrose • dietary fiber • large intestine • pH • rats

¹ Supported in part by University of Tsukuba Project Aid.

² The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

³ Current address: Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory, PEPS, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada, G1K 7P4.

⁴ Current address: Department of Bioscience, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya 466, Japan.

⁵ To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed at: Laboratory of Biochemistry of Exercise and Nutrition, Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan.

Manuscript received 1 June 1993. Revision accepted 11 November 1993.