Effects of beta-lactam antibiotics on intestinal microflora and bile acid metabolism in rats.

Wistar male rats were treated for six days with broad spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics, latamoxef, and cefotaxime. On the seventh day, the number of fecal anaerobic microbes decreased, total fecal bile acids decreased, and bile acid pools increased. Secondary bile acids such as beta-hyocholic, hyodeoxycholic, lithocholic, and deoxycholic acids decreased in the feces while the primary bile acids, cholic, beta-muricholic, and chenodeoxycholic acids, became predominant. Coprostanol, a microbial metabolite of cholesterol, also disappeared from the feces during the treatment. The cecum enlarged to almost twice the size of that in control rats, whereas the liver weight was not significantly changed. After treatment was stopped, the number of fecal microbes returned to the initial counts within a week, but restoration of bile acid and cholesterol metabolism required at least three weeks.