Sorbitol-based osmotic diarrhea: possible causes and mechanism of prevention investigated in rats.
OBJECTIVE
To study the possible causes of sorbitol (S)-based diarrhea and its mechanism of reduction by rice gruel (RG) in cecectomized rats.


METHODS
S was dissolved either in distilled water or in RG (50 g/L) and ingested as a single oral dose (1.2 g/kg body mass, containing 0.5 g/L phenol red as a recovery marker) by S (control) and S + RG groups (n = 7), respectively. This dose is over the laxative dose for humans. Animals were sacrificed exactly 1 h after dose ingestion, without any access to drinking water. The whole gastro-intestinal tract was divided into seven segments and sampled to analyze the S and marker remaining in its contents.


RESULTS
Gastric-emptying and intestinal transit were comparatively slower in the S + RG group. Also, the S absorption index in the 3(rd) and last quarter of the small intestine (24.85 +/- 18.88% vs 0.0 +/- 0.0% and 39.09 +/- 32.75% vs 0.0 +/- 0.0%, respectively, P < 0.05) was significantly higher in the S + RG group than in the control group. The S absorption index and the intestinal fluid volume are inversely related to each other.


CONCLUSIONS
The intestinal mal-absorption of S is the main reason for S-based osmotic diarrhea. Where RG enhanced the absorption of S through passive diffusion, the degree of diarrhea was reduced in cecectomized rats.
Islam
Md Shahidul
MS
Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, 1-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Okayama City 700-8530, Japan.
Sakaguchi
Ei
E
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002400:Cathartics / Q000494:pharmacology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008286:Malabsorption Syndromes / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D012275:Oryza; D009995:Osmosis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000494:pharmacology
D002400:Cathartics; D013012:Sorbitol