Trophic status of the small intestine in young and aged rats: modulation by a yogurt-supplemented diet.
Among the multifactorial causes of undernutrition in old age, gastrointestinal mucosa altered function and resulting specific malabsorption are the most relevant. Despite numerous studies that have dealt with the effects of aging on the digestive tract of mammals, results showed discrepancies in terms of proliferation and biochemical aging small intestine events. However, the slowing-down of the maturation process and the poor adaptation of metabolism and intestinal function are obvious and there is evidence that protective mechanisms are impaired with age and contribute to affecting the trophic activity and related systemic homeostasis. Good prospects to improve gastrointestinal function in the elderly are essential and research on nutritional intervention to limit and counteract age-related impairments must be extensive. Probiotics are good candidates and fermented milks might be of great interest. In the present study we first show the main structural and functional variations between 3- and 23-month-old rat small intestines. The trophic consequences of aging and nutritional adaptation under basal conditions are also analyzed and discussed after 20 days of a yogurt-supplemented specific diet in both young and aged rats. The main variations that occur with aging and yogurt diet are located in the proximal small intestine. The present findings indicate a slight improvement of morphological trophic parameters in both young and aged rats by yogurt, whereas enzymatic changes are more discrete. Despite the obvious age-related decrease in trophicity, we suggest that assessment of probiotic potentials on trophicity requires a more altered model than normal, healthy aging animals.
Foligne
Benoit
B
Laboratoire d'Histologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Nice-Sophia-Antipolis, 06107 Nice cedex 2, France. benoit.foligne@ibl.fr
Sénégas-Balas
Françoise
F
Antoine
Jean-Michel
JM
Cayuela
Chantal
C
Rolf-Pedersen
Nathalie
N
Balas
Daniel
D
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D004032:Diet; D004063:Digestion / Q000502:physiology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D043322:Lactase / Q000032:analysis; D007931:Leucyl Aminopeptidase / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D019936:Probiotics; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013393:Sucrase / Q000032:analysis; D015014:Yogurt; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases / Q000032:analysis
D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D043322:Lactase; D000520:alpha-Glucosidases; D013393:Sucrase; D007931:Leucyl Aminopeptidase