Lactulose as an antiendotoxin in experimental colitis.

Abstract

The efficacy of lactulose as an antiendotoxin was studied and the effect of lactulose or colistin on faecal flora was investigated in a hapten-induced rat model of colitis. Enteral administration of lactulose to rats with colitis was associated with a significant reduction in the systemic concentration of endotoxin (median (range) 5.4 (0-19.9) versus 23.7 (0-145.0) pg/ml in colitic rats treated with water; 4.6 (0-10.8) pg/ml in healthy animals). Enteral administration of colistin significantly reduced the faecal count of aerobic Gram-negative bacilli (median (range) 2.84 (1.40-8.43) versus 8.26 (4.50-10.40) log10 colony-forming units per g faeces after treatment with water) but not the faecal load of endotoxin. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease may benefit from enteral treatment with lactulose to prevent systemic endotoxaemia and/or with colistin to modify enteric bacteria.

• Authors: K R Gardiner, P J Erwin, N H Anderson, M D McCaigue, M I Halliday, B J Rowlands
• Journal: The British journal of surgery (Br J Surg) Vol. 82 Issue 4 Pg. 469-72 (Apr 1995) ISSN: 0007-1323 [Print] England
• PMID: 7613887 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Endotoxins
• Lactulose

Topics

• Animals
• Colitis (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Colon (microbiology)
• Endotoxins (blood)
• Escherichia coli (isolation & purification)
• Gram-Negative Bacteria (isolation & purification)
• Lactulose (therapeutic use)
• Male
• Rats
• Rats, Wistar