Effect of microflora and lactose on the absorption of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in the hindgut of the rat.

For 4 weeks, 3-month old germfree (GF) and conventional (CV) rats were given a semi-synthetic diet sterilized by irradiation with or without 10% of lactose. During the 5th week, 0.2% of titanium oxide (TiO2) was added to the diet and the rats were killed at regular intervals throughout the light/dark cycle. The patterns of TiO2 and 45Ca excretion were similar, indicating that TiO2 was a good marker of unabsorbed calcium transit. The apparent absorption coefficient of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus was determined in the ileum, caecum, large intestine and faeces by the mineral/TiO2 ratio. The effects of microflora and lactose varied with the mineral and the digestive tract level studied. --In the small intestine, microflora had no effect on the apparent absorption of calcium and magnesium but did have an unfavorable influence on phosphorus absorption. Lactose increased calcium and magnesium absorption, and this increase was similar in GF and CV rats, but lactose had a favorable effect on phosphorus absorption only in CV rats. --In the caecum, microflora had an unfavorable effect on the apparent absorption of calcium and magnesium and a favorable effect on phosphorus absorption. The ingestion of lactose reduced calcium and magnesium absorption in the caecum of GF rats and phosphorus absorption in the caecum of CV animals. --In the colon, mineral absorption was not significant in either CV or GF rats receiving the lactose-free diets. Lactose ingestion caused the absorption of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus to rise significantly only in GF rats. This absorption contributed to the stronger effect of lactose on total calcium and phosphorus absorption in GF rats.