Effect of glutamine-supplemented total parenteral nutrition on the small bowel of septic rats.

In order to study the effect of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) with or without glutamine supplementation in septic rats, septic Wistar albino rats were randomly assigned to receive 0.23 g of nitrogen and 113 kJ (100 g BW)(-1) per day in the form of amino acids with (group 2) or without (group 1) glutamine supplementation or 10% (w/v) glucose only (group 3). After 4 days of TPN treatments, rats receiving glutamine-supplemented TPN had a cumulative nitrogen balance of -24.4 +/- 3.3 mg N, which was significantly (P < 0.001) better compared to other TPN-treated groups. Septic rats of group 2 survived sepsis significantly (P < 0.001) better than those in groups 1 and 3. Glutamine-supplemented TPN treatment resulted in significant increases in jejunal weight (P < 0.001), DNA and protein contents (P < 0.001), villous height (P < 0.001) and crypt depth (P < 0.001) when compared with septic rats of group 1. Septic rats of group 2 extracted and metabolised glutamine by the small bowel at higher rates (P < 0.001) than that observed in septic rats of group 1. Increases in jejunal glutaminase (38.2%, P < 0.001) and decreases in glutamine synthetase (41.7%, P < 0.001) activities were observed in response to glutamine-supplemented TPN treatment. It is concluded that the administration of glutamine-supplemented TPN is beneficial to the small bowel of septic rats.