The effects of lactulose-sweetened yoghurt on the rate of gastric emptying and intestinal transit in healthy human volunteers.

A non-invasive, radioisotopic method was utilised to study the effects of a lactulose-sweetened yoghurt product on gastric emptying and intestinal transit. Healthy human volunteers were given 99mtechnetium-DTPA-labelled lactulose yoghurt before and after adaptation to the product. A control group received a similarly labelled glucose solution. Gastric emptying and intestinal transit were evaluated by scintigraphy. The mean half-time for gastric emptying for glucose was 39.8 +/- 3.4 min and for lactulose yoghurt, 31.3 +/- 11.0 min. After 10 days' adaptation, the corresponding value for lactulose yoghurt was 25.2 +/- 8.2 min. Intestinal transit time was faster after lactulose yoghurt than after glucose solution and did not change during adaptation. The observed effects indicate that lactulose yoghurt may be beneficial in the treatment or chronic constipation using dietary methods.