Effect of dietary bulk on small intestinal morphology and cell renewal in the rat.

Feeding an elemental diet (Vivonex) to rats over 9 days causes a decrease in the rate of cell renewal and a reduction in villus size in both the jejunum and ileum, as compared with rats fed regular chow. The addition of bulk to elemental diet cannot prevent the reduction in villous size, but it can cause a small increase in the rate of cell renewal, which is still much lower than that in chow-fed rats. The serum gastrin level of rats fed the elemental diet is about one-third of the level found in chow-fed rats, and it is not changed by the addition of bulk.