Probiotics protect the intestinal wall of morphological changes caused by malnutrition.

This study sought to morphometrically analyze the jejunal wall of protein-malnourished rats administered a probiotic supplement. The sample consisted of recently weaned Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) distributed among four groups: animals given a commercial diet (G1, n = 4); animals given the same ration as G1 plus a probiotic supplement (G2, n = 4); animals given a 4% protein diet (G3, n = 4); and animals given the same ration as G3 plus a probiotic supplement (G4, n = 4). After 12 weeks, part of the jejunum was harvested and subjected to routine histological processing. Transverse sections with a thickness of 3 µm were stained with HE, and histochemical techniques were used to assay for glycoconjugates, including staining with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) + diastase, Alcian Blue (AB) solution at pH 2.5, and Alcian Blue solution at pH 1.0. Morphometric analysis of the bowel wall showed that the probiotic culture used in this study induced hypertrophy of several layers of the jejunal wall in well-nourished animals and reduced the bowel wall atrophy usually observed in protein-malnourished animals. Neither malnutrition nor the use of probiotics altered the relationship between the number of goblet cells and the number of enterocytes.

Probiotics prevent growth deficit of colon wall strata of malnourished rats post-lactation.

The objective of this study was to analyze morphometrically the colon wall strata of malnourished rats supplemented with probiotics. Sixteen recently weaned Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were distributed into four groups: animals that received commercial chow (G1, n = 4); animals that received the same feed as G1 and were supplemented with probiotics (G2, n = 4); animals that received chow with 4% of proteins (G3, n = 4); animals that received the same feed as G3 and were supplemented with probiotics (G4, n = 4). After 12 weeks, the proximal colon was collected and submitted to histological processing. Three-µm cuts were stained with H.E., Periodic Acid Schifff (P.A.S.) + diasthasis solution and Alcian Blue (A.B.) pH 2.5 and pH 1.0. The morphometric analysis of the intestinal wall showed that the supplementation with ABT-4 probiotic culture prevents the growth deficit of colon wall strata that normally occurs in malnourished rats right after lactation. Besides, no alteration was observed in the proportion of the number of globet cells in relation to the number of enterocytes in malnourished rats, regardless of the supplementation with probiotics.