Effects of long-term ethanol consumption on jejunal lipase and disaccharidase activities in male and female rats

AIM: To study the effect of long-term ethanol consumption on jejunal lipase and disaccharidase (sucrase, maltase,and lactase) activities in rats and its gender difference. METHODS: Age-matched male and female Wistar rats were fed control or ethanol-containing liquid diets for 12 wk following the Lieber-DeCarli model. According to both theplasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities, 40 rats were divided into four groups as follows: male control group (MC), male ethanol group (ME), female control group (FC), and female ethanol group (FE).RESULTS: After ethanol feeding for 12 wk, the results revealed that plasma AST and ALT activities of group MEwere significantly increased by 58% and 92%, respectively,than those of group MC (P＜0.05). Similarly, plasma AST and ALT activities of group FE were also significantly increased by 61% and 188%, respectively, than those of group FC (P＜0.05). Fat accumulation was observed in both ethanol treated groups, while fatty changes were more severe in group FE than those in group ME. The induction of hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) was obviously seen in group ME and group FE, but was not detected in group MC and group FC. Jejunal lipase activity of group ME was significantly increased by 1.25-fold than that of group MC (P＜0.05). In contrast to, sucrase, maltase, and lactase activities of group ME were significantly decreased by 63%, 62% and 67%, respectively, than those of group MC (P＜0.05). Similarly, activities of these three enzymes of group FE were also significantly decreased by 43%, 46% and 52%, respectively, than those of group FC (P＜0.05).There were no significant epithelial changes of the duodenal mucosa in any group.CONCLUSION: Long-term ethanol consumption significantly can increase jejunal lipase and decrease jejunal disaccharidase activities in both male and female rats.

Patients with functional bowel disorder have disaccharidase deficiency:A single-center study from Russia

BACKGROUND Functional bowel disorder(FBD)may be caused by a decrease in disaccharidase activity.Thus,the timely diagnosis of disaccharidase deficiency could lead to a better prognosis in patients with this condition.AIM To determine the potential value of intestinal disaccharidases glucoamylase,maltase,sucrase,and lactase in understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of FBD.METHODS A total of 82 FBD patients were examined.According to the Rome IV criteria(2016),23 patients had diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS),33 had functional diarrhea,10 had constipation-predominant IBS,4 had functional constipation,and 12 had mixed IBS.The Dahlqvist method was used to measure disaccharidase activity in the brush-border membrane of mature enterocytes of the small intestine,in duodenal biopsies obtained during esophagogastroduodenoscopy.RESULTS Lactase deficiency was detected in 86.5%of patients,maltase deficiency in 48.7%,sucrase deficiency in 50%,and glucoamylase deficiency in 84.1%.The activities of all enzymes were reduced in 31.7%of patients,and carbohydrase deficiency was detected in 63.5%of patients.The low activity of enzymes involved in membrane digestion in the small intestine was found in 95.2%of patients.CONCLUSION In 78 of the 82 patients with FBD,gastrointestinal symptoms were associated with disaccharidase deficiency.

Correlation of intestinal disaccharidase activities with the C/T_(-13910) variant and age

AIM： To correlate the C/T-13910 variant, associated with lactase persistence/non-persistence （adulttype hypolactasia） trait, with intestinal disaccharidase activities in different age groups of the adult population.METHODS： Intestinal biopsies were obtained from 222 adults aged 18 to 83 years undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy because of unspecified abdominal complaints. The biopsies were assayed for lactase, sucrase and maltase activities and genotyped for the C/T-13910 variant using PCR-minisequencing. RESULTS： There was a significant correlation between lactase activity and the C/T-13910 variant （P 〈 0.00001）. The mean level of lactase activity among subjects with C/C-1391o genotype was 6.86± 0.35 U/g, with C/T-13910 genotype 37.8 ± 1.4 U/g, and with T/T-13910 genotype 57.6± 2.4 U/g protein, showing a trimodal distribution of this enzyme activity. Significant differences were also observed in maltase activities among individuals with different C/T-13910 genotypes （P = 0.005）. In contrast, in sucrase activity, no significant differences emerged between the C/T-13910 genotypes （P = 0.14）. There were no statistical differences in lactase （P = 0.84）, sucrase （P = 0.18）, or maltase activity （P = 0.24） among different age groups. In the majority （〉 84%） of the patients with the C/C-13910 genotype associated with lactase non- persistence, the lactase activity was less than 10 U/g protein.CONCLUSION： Our study demonstrates a statistically significant correlation between the C/T-13910 genotype and lactase activity and this correlation is not affected by age in adults but the cut-off value of 20 U/g protein used for the diagnosis of lactase non-persistence might be too high.

Disaccharidase activity in children undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy: A systematic review

AIM:To investigate the utility of intestinal disaccharide analysis during esophagogastroduodenoscopy(EGD)in children,we performed a systematic review of studies examining disaccharide activity.METHODS:All full-length articles published in English during 1966-2014 were included if:(1)participants had small intestinal biopsy evaluation of disaccharide activity;(2)levels of lactase,sucrase,maltase or palatinase were reported;and(3)age of participants was under 18 years.RESULTS:Thirty articles examining 34753 disaccharide assays fulfilled the specific search,inclusion,and exclusion criteria.All of the studies were observational in design and 57%(17)were prospective.Sixteen studies were conducted in the United States and 9European studies were identified.The biggest study enrolled about 30,314 procedures and 13 studies investigated fewer than 50 procedures.Eleven studies examined Caucasian subjects,3 studies examined Asian subjects,and 6 examined African subjects.Only one Hispanic subject was included.In studies reporting disaccharide deficiency,the overall proportion of lactase deficiency was 39.2%,sucrase deficiency was9.0%,maltase deficiency was 12.6%and palatinase deficiency was 9.1%.The prevalence of duodenal inflammatory changes ranged from 6%to 24%for nonspecific histological lesions(e.g.,duodenitis).Sixteen studies examined the association of histologic findings with disaccharide activities,and 12 studies reported an inverse association between degree of histologic inflammation and disaccharide levels.CONCLUSION:We reviewed 30 studies including34753 biopsy specimens with disaccharide analysis from children undergoing EGD.Our findings advocate a large study is to further illuminate the importance of EGDwith disaccharide analysis in children.

Effect of early nutrition on intestine development of intrauterine growth retardation in rats and its correlation to leptin

AIM：To investigate the intestine and body development of intrauterine growth retardation（IUGR）rats under early different protein diet and to analyze the correlation between leptin and intestine and body development．METHODS：An IUGR rat model was established by food restriction of pregnant female rats．Fifty-six neonatal IUGR rats and 24 neonatal normal rats were randomly divided into normal control group（Cgroup），IUGR model group （scgroup），low protein diet IUGR group（SL group），and high protein diet IUGR group（SH group）．Eight rats were killed per group at wk 0，4，and 12．Serum leptin，body weight（BW），body length（BL），intestinal weight（IW），intestinal length（IL），andintestinal disaccharidase（including lactase，maltase，and saccharase） were detected．RESULTS：BW（4．50±0．41g），BL（5．96±0．40cm），IW（0．05±0．01g），and IL（15.9±2．8cm）in neonatal IUGR rats were much lower than those in Cgroup（6．01±0．55g，6．26±0．44cm，0．10±0．02g，21.8±2．7cm，P〈0．05），while intestinal lactase and maltase activities were higher than those in Cgroup．SH group showed the fastest catch up growth and their BW，BL，IW，and IL reached the Cgroup level at wk 4．SC group showed relatively slower catch up growth than SH group，and their BW，BL，IW did not reach the Cgroup level at wk 4．SL group did not show intestine and body catch up growth．Intestinal maltase [344±33μmol／（min·q）]and saccharase activities[138±32μmol／（min·g）]in SL group were both markedly lower than nose in C group [751±102，258±271μmol／（min·g），P〈0．05]．There were no significant difierences in lactase activities at wk 4 and disaccharidase activities at wk 12 among all groups（P〈0．05）．The leptin level in SL group（0．58±0．12ng／mL） was the highest in all groups，and much lower in SH group（0．21±0．03ng／mL） than that in any other IUGR groups at wk 4（P〈0．05）．Leptin was negatively related to BW （r=-0．556，P=0．001），IW（r=-0．692，P=0．001） and IL（r=-0．738，P=0．000）at wk 4，while no correlation was found at wk 12．CONCLUSION：High protein diet is a reasonable early nutritional mode to IUGR rats in promoting intestine and body catch up growth．

Investigation of Antidiabetic Effect of Ethanolic Extract of <i>Phyllanthus emblica</i>Linn. Fruits in Experimental Animal Models

Hypoglycemic effects were investigated in the ethanolic extract of fruits of Phyllanthus emblica Linn. with long evans rats (100-120 g). Residual gut sucrose content, gut perfusion and disaccharidase activity studies were carried out to assess these activities. The residual gut sucrose content study was carried out to reveal the amount of sucrose remaining in the gastro intestinal tract (GIT) at six different segments. The ethanolic fruit extract of Phyllanthus emblica Linn. significantly increases the residual sucrose content throughout the gut after sucrose ingestion. Study on intestinal enzyme activity showed that the extract caused a significant (p 0.05), dose dependent inhibition of intestinal disaccharidase enzyme activity. Evaluation of the effect of the plant extract on intestinal enzyme activity showed significant inhibition of intestinal disaccharidase activity, suggesting that reduction of sucrose absorption may be partly related to the inhibition of disaccharidase activity in the gut. The gut perfusion analysis showed that the extract significantly reduced intestinal glucose absorption. The results of the present study suggest that ethanolic extract of Phyllanthus emblica Linn. has significant antidiabetic effects in a dose dependent manner and this may be effective in the treatment of diabetes.

Effects of Wei Chang An pill(胃肠安丸) on enzyme activity and levels of vasoactive peptide and substance P in the small intestine of rats with compound diarrhea

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the regulatory effects of Wei Chang An Pill(WCAP) on enzyme activity and gastrointestinal hormones in the small intestine of rats with compound diarrhea.METHODS:Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control,diarrhea model,and WCAP high,medium,and low dose groups.The control group was not treated,and the model group was administered intragastric distilled water.The WCAP groups were given WCAP suspension,80,60 or 40 mg · kg-1 · d-1,for 4 days.Stool properties were observed.After the experiment,thymus and spleen indices were measured,and the activities of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),malate dehydrogenase(MDH),and disaccharidase(lactase) in the small intestinal mucous membrane,and levels of substance P(SP) and vasoactive peptide(VIP) in the colon were determined.RESULTS:Compared with the control group,thymus and spleen indices were significantly decreased,LDH,MDH,and disaccharidase activity in the small intestine was decreased,and SP and VIP levels in the colon were significantly increased inthe diarrhea model group.Compared with the model group,thymus and spleen indices were significantly increased,and LDH,MDH,and disaccharidase activity in the small intestine and SP and VIP levels in the colon were significantly decreased in theWCAP medium dose group.CONCLUSION:The diarrhea model rats exhibited pathological changes including atrophy of the thymus and spleen,decreased enzyme activity in the small intestine,and gastrointestinal hormone disturbance.WCAP can increase the activity of intestinal digestive enzymes and regulate gastrointestinal hormones,thereby relieving diarrhea.