pectins and Ascites

Bacterial infections are frequent in cirrhosis. Experimental studies suggest a pathogenic role of intestinal bacterial translocation in them. Both fermentable and non-fermentable fibre avoided intestinal bacterial translocation (IBT) in animal models of gut starvation and critical illness.. To assess the effect of fermentable (pectin) or non-fermentable (lignin) fibre on IBT in ascitic cirrhotic rats.. Thirty-six rats induced to cirrhosis with oral CCl4 were randomized (6 weeks after the first CCl4 dose) to receive rat chow+5% lignin (LIG, n=13), rat chow+5% pectin (PEC, n=13), or rat chow only (CON, n=10). Once ascites developed, animals were laparotomized and samples of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), ascitic fluid, portal and peripheral blood and liver, were obtained for culture.. IBT rate was: LIG=5/13, PEC=4/13, CON=5/10 (P=N.S.). The median amount of translocated bacteria in rats with IBT was lower in the PEC group (2 x 10(2) CFU/g MLN), than in LIG (10(5) CFU/g MLN) and CON (10(4) CFU/g MLN) groups (P<0.05). All other samples were sterile except for a portal blood sample (Enterococcus faecalis) of the LIG group.. IBT incidence is not decreased by either pectin or lignin in ascitic cirrhotic rats, but pectin supplementation reduces the amount of translocated bacteria.

Topics: Animals; Ascites; Bacterial Translocation; Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning; Dietary Fiber; Fermentation; Humans; Lignin; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental; Male; Pectins; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley