title: Lactulose as an antiendotoxin in experimental colitis.
abstract: The efficacy of lactulose as an antiendotoxin was studied and the effect of lactulose or colistin on faecal flora was investigated in a hapten-induced rat model of colitis. Enteral administration of lactulose to rats with colitis was associated with a significant reduction in the systemic concentration of endotoxin (median (range) 5.4 (0-19.9) versus 23.7 (0-145.0) pg/ml in colitic rats treated with water; 4.6 (0-10.8) pg/ml in healthy animals). Enteral administration of colistin significantly reduced the faecal count of aerobic Gram-negative bacilli (median (range) 2.84 (1.40-8.43) versus 8.26 (4.50-10.40) log10 colony-forming units per g faeces after treatment with water) but not the faecal load of endotoxin. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease may benefit from enteral treatment with lactulose to prevent systemic endotoxaemia and/or with colistin to modify enteric bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Queen's University of Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Gardiner
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Erwin
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: McCaigue
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Halliday
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Rowlands
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003092:Colitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D003106:Colon / Q000382:microbiology; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007792:Lactulose / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D004731:Endotoxins; D007792:Lactulose