Protective effect of galactooligosaccharide-supplemented enteral nutrition on intestinal barrier function in rats with severe acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Intestinal barrier dysfunction may play an important role in the secondary infectious complications associated with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). We aimed to investigate the protective effect of enteral nutrition supplemented with prebiotics, namely, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), on intestinal barrier function in SAP rats.
METHODS: We randomly divided 60 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats into 6 groups: sham operation 4-d and 7-d groups, SAP with standard enteral nutrition (EN) 4-d and 7-d groups, and SAP with GOS-supplemented EN (PRE-EN) 4-d and 7-d groups (n = 10 in each group). The intestinal barrier function was assessed on the basis of several aspects, including the number of colonic bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, sIgA concentration in intestinal mucus, extent of apoptosis in intestinal epithelial cells, and the protein expression and mRNA of the intestinal tight junction protein occludin. The results for groups at the same time points were compared with each other.
RESULTS: We observed that the intestinal barrier function was impaired after the establishment of the SAP model, in comparison with the sham control group. In the PRE-EN groups, the number of fecal bifidobacteria, sIgA level in intestinal mucus, intestinal occludin mRNA level at both day 4 and day 7, and extent of intestinal epithelial apoptosis at day 7 were significantly higher than the corresponding values in the standard EN groups (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Supplementation of the prebiotic GOS in EN can significantly improve intestinal barrier function in SAP rats.