Basic Research
Copyright ©2006 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2006; 12(47): 7635-7641
Published online Dec 21, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i47.7635
Sorbitol-based osmotic diarrhea: Possible causes and mechanism of prevention investigated in rats
Md Shahidul Islam, Ei Sakaguchi
Md Shahidul Islam, Ei Sakaguchi, Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, 1-1-1 Tsushima-naka, Okayama City 700-8530, Japan
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Professor Ei Sakaguchi, PhD, Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Okayama City 700-8530, Japan. eisakag@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-86-2518336 Fax: +81-86-2518388
Received: August 2, 2006
Revised: November 8, 2006
Accepted: November 17, 2006
Published online: December 21, 2006
Abstract

AIM: 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 3rd 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.

CONCLUSION: 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.

Keywords: Cecectomized rat; Sorbitol; Diarrhea; Rice gruel; Phenol red