Basic Research
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2005; 11(47): 7413-7417
Published online Dec 21, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i47.7413
Effect of synbiotics on intestinal microflora and digestive enzyme activities in rats
Suh-Ching Yang, Ju-Yen Chen, Huey-Fang Shang, Ting-Ying Cheng, Su Chen Tsou, Jiun-Rong Chen
Suh-Ching Yang, Ju-Yen Chen, Jiun-Rong Chen, School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, China
Ju-Yen Chen, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, China
Ting-Ying Cheng, Su Chen Tsou, Viva Life Science/Westar Nutrition, Costa Mesa, CA, United States
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by Viva Life Science/Westar Nutrition, Costa Mesa, CA, United States
Correspondence to: Jiun-Rong Chen, School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan, China. sokei@tmu.edu.tw
Telephone: +886-2-2736-1661 Fax: +886-2-2737-3112
Received: March 31, 2005
Revised: May 10, 2005
Accepted: May 12, 2005
Published online: December 21, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the effect of synbiotics, i.e. probiotics and prebiotics mixture, on the gut microbial ecology and digestive enzyme activities in rats.

METHODS: Forty-eight SD rats weighing about 280 g were used in this study. Rats were divided into three groups according to the contents of probiotics and prebiotics mixture in the feed as control, low and high dose groups. The duration of the experiment was 8 wk.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the fecal Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium counts were significantly increased and the fecal Coliform organism counts were markedly reduced in the low and high dose groups. Concerning the digestive enzyme activity of jejunum, only lactase activity increased in low dose group. However, significant increase of lipase, lactase, sucrase, and isomaltase activities were observed in high dose group.

CONCLUSION: Intake of low and high dosages of probiotics and prebiotics mixture significantly improved the ecosystem of the intestinal tract by increasing the probiotics population and digestive enzyme activities in rats.

Keywords: Synbiotics; Intestinal microflora; Digestive enzyme activity