Intestinal health benefits of the water-soluble carbohydrate concentrate of wild grape ( Vitis thunbergii ) in hamsters.

The dose-response relationship of the water-soluble carbohydrate concentrate (WSCC) from wild grape ( Vitis thunbergii Sieb. & Zucc.) on intestinal health was investigated in this study. WSCC contained carbohydrates up to 71.9 g/100 g, including arabinose-rich pectic polysaccharide, hemicelluloses, glucose, and fructose. The consumption of WSCC (0.5 and 1.5 g/100 g of diet) effectively (P < 0.05) shortened gastrointestinal transit time (-62.3 to -63.0%), decreased toxic cecal ammonia (-59.3 to -63.0%) and daily fecal ammonia output (-29.7 to -41.4%), decreased the activities of fecal β-glucuronidase (-78.6%), β-glucosidase (-80.5 to -87.5%), mucinase (-64.6 to -72.7%), and urease (-83.2 to -86.0%), increased fecal moisture content (116-129%), and also increased short-chain fatty acid levels in cecal contents (1.8-3.3-fold). These findings suggested that consumption of wild grape WSCC might diminish the exposure of intestinal mucosa to toxic ammonia and other detrimental compounds and, hence exert, favorable effects on improving gastrointestinal milieu.