title: Effects of cellulose supplementation on fecal consistency and fecal weight.
abstract: We investigated the effects of cellulose supplementation on fecal consistency and fecal weight. About 26 women were classified into two groups-normal defecation and constipation groups. All subjects ate the following meals during the experiment: ordinary meals (first week), experimental meals (second week), and experimental meals mixed with 4 g (third week) and 8 g (fourth week) cellulose. The experimental meal contained 16.7 g fiber. Fecal weights, fecal water content, fecal consistency, and defecation frequency were measured during the experimental period. As a result, in the normal defecation group, the mean fecal weight was 222.9 g day(-1) in the first week, and thereafter decreased. Although 20/24 g of fiber intake in the third/fourth week increased the fecal weight to over 150 g, the fecal consistency was still lower than the optimal consistency of around 300 g cm(-2). However, these changes were not observed in the constipated group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, 5 Zaifu-cho, Hirosaki 036-8562, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Danjo
authors.forename: Juichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iwane
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakaji
authors.forename: Shinsaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimoyama
authors.forename: Ippei
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Umeda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002482:Cellulose / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003248:Constipation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003672:Defecation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004435:Eating; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D014867:Water; D002482:Cellulose