The Effects of Levan and Inulin on the Growth of Lactic Acid-Producing Bacteria and Intestinal Conditions in Rats

In nature, two different types of fructose polymers (fructan) are generally found in dietary fibers; these are the fructose homopolymers levan, which is of high molecular weight and is $\beta$-(2,6)-linked, and inulin, which is of low molecular weight and is $\beta$-(2,1)-linked. The effects of levan and inulin on the intestinal physiology of rats were compared. Sprague Dawley rats were fed one of three diets for 3 weeks: a control diet, a basal diet containing 7% of levan, and a basal diet containing 7% of inulin. Cecal enlargement, together with the lowering of cecal pH, occurred in rats fed on the levan and inulin diets (p < 0.05). The levan and inulin diets resulted in a two-fold increase in the amount of short-chain fatty acids in the cecum, when compared to the control diet. The number of total microbes and of lactic acid-producing bacteria in the feces were higher in rats fed the fructan diets than those in rats fed control diet (p < 0.05). The levan diet also significantly increased the cecal $\alpha$-galactosidase activity by 3.8-fold, when compared to the control diet, indicating that levan stimulated the growth of Bifidobacteria in the cecum. These results show that the intake of levan and inulin stimulated the growth of lactic acid-producing bacteria in the cecum and thereby improved intestinal conditions in rats. (Korean J Nutrition 35(9) : 912~918,2002)

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