[Dietary fiber protects intestinal structure and barrier function].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of dietary fiber on intestinal structure and barrier function of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) challenged rat.


METHODS
Thirty Wistar rats were divided randomly into three groups (10 each group): Chow, enteric nutrition (EN), and EN + Fiber group. Both EN and EN + Fiber group were isonitrogenic and isocaloric. The rats kept their diet respectively for 8 days. 5-Fu was injected intraperitoneally on day 4 postoperatively. Intestinal permeability (L/M) was measured respectively on day 3 and day 7. On day 8, the bacterial translation, wet weight and mucous thickness of both small intestine and colon and the villus height of small intestine were measured. The rats were weighted before and after experiment respectively.


RESULTS
The body weight loss of the EN + Fiber group (-3.1 +/- 3.4 g) was less than that of the EN group (-6.6 +/- 5.2 g) (P < 0.05), whereas the Chow group gained body weight (4.9 +/- 4.3 g) (P < 0.01 when compared with EN and EN + Fiber group). The parameters of intestinal structures of the EN + Fiber group was superior to the EN group (P < 0.05). The L/M of both EN + Fiber (from 0.0265 +/- 0.0073 to 0.0274 +/- 0.0068) and the Chow group (from 0.0268 +/- 0.0039 to 0.0281 +/- 0.0044) was unchanged (P > 0.05 for both) after 5-Fu challenged, whereas that of the EN group increased (from 0.0289 +/- 0.0070 to 0.0331 +/- 0.0084) (P < 0.01). The incidence of bacterial translocation to MLN of both EN + Fiber group and the Chow group (20%) was lower than that of the EN group (70%) (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The dietary fiber protects the intestinal structure and barrier function of 5-Fu challenged rats.
Deng
G
G
Department of Surgery, 305th Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100017.
Jiang
Z
Z
Liu
Y
Y
He
G
G
Xu
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D018988:Bacterial Translocation; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000494:pharmacology; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007422:Intestines / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010539:Permeability / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D005472:Fluorouracil