Promotive effects of non-digestible disaccharides on rat mineral absorption depend on the type of saccharide.
OBJECTIVE
We examined the effects of feeding non-digestible disaccharides, difructose anhydride III (DFAIII), maltitol, melibiose and, cellobiose, on calcium, magnesium, and iron absorption in comparison with fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) in normal and ovariectomized rats.


METHODS
In experiment 1, six groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a control diet (100 g of cellulose/kg of diet), test diets containing 30 g of FOS, or the four non-digestible disaccharides in place of the cellulose in the control diet for 4 wk. In experiment 2, two groups of female Sprague-Dawley rats (sham or ovariectomized) were assigned to one of four subgroups and fed the control or test diet containing FOS, DFAIII, and melibiose for 5 wk. Feces and cecal contents were collected to evaluate mineral absorption and cecal fermentation.


RESULTS
In experiment 1, calcium absorption in all the disaccharides groups except the cellobiose group, magnesium absorption in all test diet groups, and iron absorption in the FOS, DFAIII, and melibiose groups were higher than those in the control group. In ovariectomized rats (experiment 2), calcium absorption in the DFAIII and melibiose groups, magnesium absorption in all test diet groups, and iron absorption in the DFAIII group alone were higher than those in the control group. Cecal organic acids were positively and pH was negatively correlated with the absorption of these minerals, although the effects varied.


CONCLUSIONS
Non-digestible disaccharides increase calcium, magnesium, and iron absorption in normal and ovariectomized rats; however, the effects depend on the disaccharide tested, a fact that may be partly associated with the cecal fermentation of these disaccharides.
Asvarujanon
Patchana
P
Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Ishizuka
Satoshi
S
Hara
Hiroshi
H
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002432:Cecum / Q000737:chemistry; D004063:Digestion; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005285:Fermentation; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000187:drug effects*; D007501:Iron / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008274:Magnesium / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004187:Disaccharides; D008903:Minerals; D007501:Iron; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium