Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
Volume 96, Issue 6, Pages 1078-1086Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/BJN20061936
Keywords
carbohydrate fermentation; colonic nitrogen; stable isotopes
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In the present study, the production and fate of bacterial metabolites in the colon were investigated in a direct way using two substrates labelled with stable isotopes: lactose [N-15, N-15]ureide as a source of labelled ammonia and egg proteins intrinsically labelled with [H-2(4)]tyrosine as a precursor of [H-2(4)]p-cresol. Both ammonia and phenolic compounds are believed to be carcinogenic. Stimulation of carbohydrate fermentation in order to prevent accumulation of these toxic metabolites was induced by inclusion of inulin in a test meal or by addition of inulin to the daily diet, allowing us to distinguish between changes induced by the actual presence of a fermentable carbohydrate and effects caused by a long-term dietary intervention. When a single dose of inulin was administered together with the labelled substrates, a significant increase in faecal N-15 excretion, accompanied by a proportional decrease in urinary N-15 excretion was observed, probably reflecting an enhanced uptake of ammonia for bacterial biosynthesis, since an increased concentration of labelled N in bacterial pellets was found. A statistically significant reduction of urinary [H-2(4)]p-cresol excretion was also noted. Upon supplementation of inulin to the daily diet during 4 weeks, however, only a tendency towards decreased urinary excretion of both labelled and unlabelled p-cresol was noted. Further studies are warranted to confirm these results in a larger cohort.
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