Influence of weaning age on the villous height and disaccharidase activities in the porcine small intestine.

Body weight gain after weaning is correlated with villous height and disaccharidase activity. This evidence suggests that the maintenance of the small intestinal structure and function after weaning is important for the growth of piglets. We demonstrated that the influence of weaning age was obtained by disaccharidase activities and villous height in eight sections of the porcine small intestine. Therefore, we designed three weaning ages (weaned at the ages of 14, 21 or 28 days) and the piglets were slaughtered after 7 or 14 days post-weaning. The remaining suckling piglets were slaughtered at the age of 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Four piglets were slaughtered at each event; therefore, 44 piglets were used in this study. Villous height and disaccharidase activities were measured in each section of the small intestine. Early weaning such as that at 14 days had severe influence on villous and disaccharidase activities. In particular, weaning of 14-day-olds did not result in maltase activity at least 2 weeks post-weaning. Accordingly, the weaning age of crossbred piglets is recommended to be at least 21 days or more on the basis of villous height and disaccharidase activity analyses.

Dietary lactosucrose suppresses influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in mice.

This study examined the effects of lactosucrose (4(G)-ß-D-galactosylsucrose) on influenza A virus infections in mice. First, the effects of lactosucrose on fermentation in the cecum and on immune function were investigated. In female BALB/c mice, lactosucrose supplementation for 6 weeks promoted cecal fermentation and increased both secretory IgA (SIgA) levels in feces and total IgA and IgG2a concentrations in serum. Both the percentage of CD4(+) T cells in Peyer's patches and the cytotoxic activity of splenic natural killer (NK) cells increased significantly in response to lactosucrose. Next, we examined the effects of lactosucrose on low-dose influenza A virus infection in mice. After 2 weeks of dietary supplementation with lactosucrose, the mice were infected with low-dose influenza A virus. At 7 days post infection, a comparison with control mice showed that weight loss was suppressed, as were viral titers in the lungs. In the spleens of lactosucrose-fed mice, there was an increase in the percentage of NK cells. Lastly, mice fed lactosucrose were challenged with a lethal dose of influenza A virus. The survival rate of these mice was significantly higher than that of mice fed a control diet. These results suggested that lactosucrose supplementation suppresses influenza A virus infection by augmenting innate immune responses and enhancing cellular and mucosal immunity.

Correlation between villous height and the disaccharidase activity in the small intestine of piglets from nursing to growing.

Early weaning induces villous atrophy in the small intestine. Reduction in villous height in the small intestine after weaning is associated with reductions in brush-border enzyme activity. Body weight gain after weaning is, therefore, correlated with villous height. This evidence suggested that the maintenance of small intestinal structure and function after weaning is important for the growth of young pigs. On the other hand, the relationship between villous height and the activity of the digestive enzymes in the small intestine has not been studied with piglets from the suckling to the growing period. Five suckling piglets, four piglets in the proximal stage of weaning, four pigs in the distal stage of weaning and four growing pigs were used. The activities of lactase (LA), sucrase (SA) and maltase (MA) were determined. LA showed a positive correlation with villous height in weaning. SA and MA were positively correlated with villous height from suckling to growing. In a previous study, non-infectious dyspeptic diarrhea was frequently observed in growing piglets on Japanese swine farms. The maintenance of villous height to retain disaccharidase activity may prevent dyspepsic diarrhea in this stage.

A mixture of Salacia reticulata (Kotala himbutu) aqueous extract and cyclodextrin reduces body weight gain, visceral fat accumulation, and total cholesterol and insulin increases in male Wistar fatty rats.

This study examined the effects of a mixture of an aqueous extract of Salacia reticulata (Kotala himbutu) and cyclodextrin (SRCD) on various metabolic parameters and cecal fermentation in obese fa/fa male Wistar fatty rats, a model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Wistar fatty rats were fed 0% (control group) or 0.2% SRCD-supplemented diets and weighed weekly. The plasma glucose, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, insulin, and adiponectin concentrations were measured at weeks 0, 2, 4, and 5. SRCD supplementation suppressed the time-dependent increase in the plasma total cholesterol and insulin concentrations. After 6 weeks of a 0.2% SRCD-supplemented diet, the body weight gain, food intake, visceral fat mass, liver mass, and liver triacylglycerol content of the rats were significantly lower, whereas the plasma adiponectin concentrations were significantly higher than those of the control group. SRCD supplementation had no significant effect on plasma glucose and triacylglycerol concentrations. SRCD supplementation significantly increased cecum mass, whereas it significantly decreased the cecal butyrate and short-chain fatty acid (sum of the acetate, butyrate, and propionate) concentrations. All of the rats were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test at the beginning of week 6. The area under the curve for insulin was significantly smaller with SRCD supplementation and showed no change in glucose tolerance compared to that of the control group. These results suggest that bioactive compounds in SRCD may suppress the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus by influencing glucose and lipid metabolism in male Wistar fatty rats and that SRCD may influence cecal fermentation.

Dietary alpha-linked galacto-oligosaccharide suppresses ovalbumin-induced allergic peritonitis in BALB/c mice.

To determine whether alpha-linked galacto-oligosaccharide (alpha-GOS) prevents allergic peritonitis, BALB/c mice were fed a synthetic diet with and without alpha-GOS supplementation for 7 d, and were then subcutaneously immunized with ovalbumin on days 0 and 7. The mice were challenged by intraperitoneal injection with ovalbumin on day 14, followed by peritoneal lavage on day 15. The total number of peritoneal exudate cells was significantly lower in the mice fed the alpha-GOS diet than in those fed the control diet. Peritoneal lavage fluid from mice fed the alpha-GOS diet not only had less potency to attract peripheral blood leukocytes and peritoneal exudate cells ex vivo, but also had lower concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and eotaxin. Preincubation of the cells with alpha-GOS failed to affect the migration to peritoneal lavage fluid. We propose that dietary alpha-GOS reduces cell infiltration in allergic peritonitis by reducing antigen-induced elicitation of MCP-1 and eotaxin in mice.

Long-term administration of 4G-beta-D-galactosylsucrose (lactosucrose) enhances intestinal calcium absorption in young women: a randomized, placebo-controlled 96-wk study.

This study determined the effect of long-term administration of 4(G)-beta-D-galactosylsucrose (lactosucrose; LS) on intestinal calcium absorption. In a randomized, single-blind, parallel-group study, LS (n=9, 6.0 g twice daily) or a placebo (maltose; n=8, 6.0 g twice daily) was administered to healthy young women for 92 wk: the study also included a 4-wk post-administration period. All participants completed the study. Dietary nutrient intake; fecal weight, pH, and moisture content; fecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), putrefactive products, ammonia, and minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron); and serum calcium and osteocalcin concentrations were measured every 24 wk. Urinary pyridinoline (PYR) and deoxypyridinoline (DPD), and urinary calcium excretion were measured every 12 wk. Significant effects of oligosaccharide treatment, time, and the interaction between oligosaccharide treatment and time were observed for fecal pH, SCFA, ammonia, and putrefactive product values (p<0.05). Fecal pH, ammonia, and putrefactive product values decreased in the LS group, and the fecal SCFA concentration significantly increased during the administration period; these changes were not observed 4 wk post-administration. To examine the mineral balance of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in detail, all the participants completed a 6-d mineral balance study, sometime between week 56 and 60 of the longer study. During the mineral balance study, the daily calcium intake was set at 400 mg; all feces and urine were collected each day for 6 d after an 8-d acclimation period. In the balance study, fecal calcium excretion was significantly lower in the LS group than in the placebo group (p<0.05), and apparent calcium absorption and retention, apparent magnesium and phosphorus absorption, and magnesium retention were significantly higher in the LS group than in the placebo group (p<0.05). Our results suggest that the administration of LS produces a long-term enhancement of intestinal calcium absorption in healthy young women with lower than recommended calcium intakes.

Enhancement by lactosucrose of the calcium absorption from the intestine in growing rats.

The effects of dietary lactosucrose on calcium absorption from the intestine and calcium accumulation in bones were investigated in growing female rats. The apparent calcium-45 ((45)Ca) absorption, residual (45)Ca ratio in the body, and (45)Ca accumulation in the femur and tibia of lactosucrose-supplemented rats were significantly higher than in control rats 24 h after the administration of a (45)CaCl(2) solution.

A mixture of the Salacia reticulata (Kotala himbutu) aqueous extract and cyclodextrin reduces the accumulation of visceral fat mass in mice and rats with high-fat diet-induced obesity.

The effects of a mixture of the Salacia reticulata (Kotala himbutu) aqueous extract and cyclodextrin (SRCD) on the development of obesity were examined. We studied the effects of SRCD on the elevation of plasma triacylglycerol levels induced by oral administration of a high-fat (HF) liquid diet to male Sprague-Dawley rats. The plasma triacylglycerol concentration was significantly lower in the SRCD-treated rats than in the control rats 4 h after HF diet administration (P<0.05). In a study of female C57BL/6 mice that consumed a solid HF diet containing 0, 0.2 or 0.5% SRCD ad libitum for 8 wk, the increases in body weight and visceral fat mass were less in those fed the diet supplemented with 0.5% SRCD than in those fed the HF diet (P<0.05). In male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a solid HF diet with or without 0.2% SRCD and restricted in energy intake to that of rats fed a normal diet for 35 d, the increases in body weight and visceral fat mass were smaller in the SRCD-supplemented rats (P<0.05). In addition, the energy efficiency and the plasma leptin and adiponectin concentrations were lower in the mice and rats that were administered SRCD than in those fed the HF diet alone (P<0.05). The inhibitory effects of SRCD on HF diet-induced obesity may be attributable to the inhibition of carbohydrate and lipid absorption from the small intestine. Therefore, SRCD may suppress the accumulation of visceral fat and the glucose intolerance that accompany this type of obesity.

Allergic airway eosinophilia is suppressed in ovalbumin-sensitized Brown Norway rats fed raffinose and alpha-linked galactooligosaccharide.

We recently found that dietary raffinose suppressed allergic airway eosinophilia in ovalbumin-sensitized Brown Norway rats. Using this model in the present study, we compared the efficacy of other oligosaccharides with that of raffinose. Brown Norway rats were immunized s.c. with ovalbumin on d 0 and exposed to aerosolized ovalbumin on d 20; broncho-alveolar lavage fluid was obtained on d 21. In Expt. 1, rats were fed a control diet or diets supplemented with different oligosaccharides (50 g/kg diet, raffinose, alpha-linked galactooligosaccharide, fructooligosaccharide, and xylooligosaccharide). The number of eosinophils in the fluid was significantly lower in rats fed raffinose and alpha-linked galactooligosaccharide diets than in those fed the control diet. Dietary fructooligosaccharide and xylooligosaccharide did not affect airway eosinophilia. In Expt. 2, i.p. administration of raffinose and alpha-linked galactooligosaccharide, but not fructooligosaccharide and xylooligosaccharide, suppressed airway eosinophilia in rats fed the control diet. In Expt. 3, suppression of airway eosinophilia by dietary alpha-linked galactooligosaccharide occurred in cecectomized rats administered neomycin. Reduced levels of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 mRNA in lung tissue were associated with the suppression of airway eosinophilia. We propose that indigestible oligosaccharides differ in their suppressive effect on allergic airway eosinophilia in ovalbumin-sensitized Brown Norway rats and that the effect appears not to be mediated by intestinal microflora.