Quantitation of colonic luminal synthesis of butyric acid in piglets.

OBJECTIVES

Butyric acid, synthesized via bacterial fermentation in colonic lumen, may play an important role in the nutrition of the colonic mucosa. Since disaccharides, especially lactose, are the principal dietary carbohydrates during infancy, it is important to determine if their fermentation is associated with butyric acid synthesis. The objective of this paper is to describe a newly developed stable isotope method for quantifying butyric acid synthesis in the colonic lumen and to demonstrate its application during cecal infusions of lactose and lactulose in piglets.

METHODS

Nine piglets aged 21 to 30 days were studied during acute anesthesia. The C enrichment of butyric acid was monitored in the portal vein before and during a 120 minutes cecal infusion of [1- C]-butyric acid and either unlabeled lactose (N = 4) or lactulose (N = 5).

RESULTS

The luminal synthesis of BA (micromol x kg x min ) (Mean +/- S.D.) was respectively 1.5 +/- 0.9 and 1.2 +/- 0.6 during lactulose and lactose infusion.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides new quantitative data on in vivo butyric acid production in the mammalian colon.