title: [Establishment of the intestinal microflora and regulation of bacterial translocation after caffeine citrate treatment during postnatal period in rat].
abstract: To relieve respiratory problems such as apnea in newborns, caffeine citrate is the drug of choice because of its good tolerance and therapeutic index. However, its impact on the intestinal microbial ecosystem and on bacterial translocation in the neonatal period remains insufficiently investigated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of caffeine citrate on the establishment of the intestinal microflora and bacterial translocation in rats from birth to the 30th day of life. Newborn Wistar rats were divided into four groups of 14 animals, each subdivided into a control group receiving a placebo (12mL tap water/kg/day) and another treated with caffeine citrate (12mg/kg/day). The animals were nursed by their mothers and weighed daily. A group of 14 rats was killed at birth and after 10, 20, or 30 days of life. Organs in which translocation was assessed (liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys) and various fragments of intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon) were surgically removed. The bacteriological analysis performed involved enumeration of the total microflora, staphylococci, enterobacteria, and lactobacilli. From the 10th day, caffeine was shown to significantly decrease the weight of treated animals as compared with controls (P<0.05). However, caffeine treatment did not drastically alter the kinetics of establishment of the intestinal microflora as only enterobacteria were found to be significantly lower in any intestinal segment of the treated group (P<0.05). Moreover, from the 20th day of life, caffeine citrate significantly downregulated bacterial translocation of both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria (P<0.05). This preliminary study on the effects of treatment with caffeine citrate may open opportunities in clinical pediatrics; the treatment will remain partially effective in preventing bacterial translocation in the neonatal period.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de bioconversion, génie microbiologique et sécurité sanitaire, université de Mascara, Mascara, 29000 Algérie. moumenw@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Moumen Chentouf
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tir Touil Meddah
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Léké
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mullié
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Krim
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Canarelli
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meddah
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D018988:Bacterial Translocation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002951:Citrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D002951:Citrates; D002110:Caffeine; C026189:caffeine citrate