Castrated male Iberian (n = 12) and Landrace × Large White (n = 12) pigs were used to study histological structure and enzymatic activity in the small intestine at 3 points of the productive cycle (BW = 15, 50, and 115 kg). Both strains were fed the same cereal-based diets (DE = 2,799 kcal·kg(-1), and CP = 15%) throughout the entire experimental period. Differences (P < 0.05) in histometrical v...

Six-week-old rats subjected to prenatal and postnatal dietary restriction (maternal and weanling intake = 50% that of controls) were studied. Compared with controls, malnourished rats not only had reduced body (78 +/- 12 vs 187 +/- 21 g) and organ weights (small intestine: 4.51 +/- 0.46 vs 9.89 +/- 0.61 g; colon: 0.75 +/- 0.08 vs 1.77 +/- 0.18 g; liver: 2.75 +/- 0.34 vs 9.13 +/- 1.33 g; pancrea...

BACKGROUND Increased duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytes is a key histological finding in celiac disease. Available studies suggest a wide normal range (10 - 40 intraepithelial lymphocytes /100 epithelial cells, EC). We assessed the normal range of distal duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytes. METHODS Biopsies from the normal-looking distal duodenum from individuals referring for endoscopy fo...

Six litters of newborn crossbred piglets were utilized to examine 1) the effects of substituting 20% of the protein of an all-milk protein liquid diet with a soy protein isolate (milk-soy diet) on small intestinal variables and 2) the effects of supplementing this milk-soy diet with 25 g of either putrescine or ethylamine per kilogram diet on small intestinal variables. Small intestinal xylose ...

In the present study, to explore the beneficial effect of dietary galactoglycerolipids on the lower digestive tract environment, male BALB/c mice were fed a 5% wheat glycolipid, fiber-free diet, or the standard AIN diet for 3 wk. The wheat glycolipid composition was digalactosyldiacylglycerol 51.6%, ceramide monohexoside 6.6%, acylated sterylglucoside 3.4%, and other lipids 22.2%, (mostly phosp...

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells including those of the gastrointestinal tract. Although chemotherapeutics and radiation exposure kill rapidly proliferating tumor cells, rapidly dividing normal cells of the host's gastrointestinal tract are also frequently damaged, leading to the clinical condition broadly termed "mucositis." ...

Objective. Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitors inactivate glucagonlike peptide (GLP)-1, GLP-2, and other hormones by degradation. Administration of a DPP-4 inhibitor or GLP-2 analog stimulates intestinal growth and facilitates the restoration of mucosal damage caused by drug-induced colitis in mice. We studied the effect of GLP-2 deletion on morphological changes on gut and colitis recovery...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of age and diet on intestinal morphology and large bowel fermentative end-product concentrations in healthy dogs. Small intestinal villus width, height, and area, and small intestinal and colonic crypt depth were measured. Large bowel digesta samples were analyzed for ammonia, SCFAs, and branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs). SCFAs are consi...

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of the L-glutamine supplementation to prevent - diabetes induced changes in myenteric neurons and also to verify the effect on the mucosa of the ileum of Wistar rats. The animals were divided in five groups (n = 5): untreated normoglycaemic (UN), normoglycaemic treated with L-glutamine (NG), untreated diabetics (UD), diabetics treated wit...

BACKGROUND The positive effects of ozone therapy have been described in many gastrointestinal disorders. The mechanisms of this positive effect of ozone therapy are poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the use of ozone may potentiate the gut intestinal mucosal homeostasis in a rat model. METHODS Adult rats weighing 250-280 g were randomly assigned to ...