Cecal fermentations in rats fed oligosaccharides (inulin) are modulated by dietary calcium level.

The influence of Ca on the fermentation of dietary oligosaccharides in the large intestine has been investigated in four groups of rats fed different semipurified diets: 1) fiber free, 3 g Ca/kg; 2) fiber free, 8 g Ca/kg; 3) 15% inulin, 3 g Ca/kg; or 4) 15% inulin, 8 g Ca/kg. The cecal fermentations were very low in rats fed the fiber-free diets and were not affected by the dietary Ca level. Rats fed the inulin diets had enlarged cecum with acidic fermentations, relatively rich in propionic acid. In this diet group rats adapted to the 3 g Ca/kg level had very acidic fermentations and depressed volatile fatty acid concentrations together with an accumulation of lactic acid (L and D isomers). Inulin diets brought about a rise in the crypt column height and in the activity of ornithine decarboxylase in cecal mucosa, especially in the 3 g Ca/kg diet group. There was considerable accumulation of insoluble Ca and Pi in the cecum of rats fed high-Ca diets. Inulin feeding increased the percentage of soluble Ca and Pi; Ca absorption from the cecum was also markedly higher in rats fed inulin and was influenced by the dietary Ca level. The concentrations of soluble bile acids were depressed in rats fed inulin diets, which enhanced the fecal excretion of bile acids. These effects were poorly altered by changes in the dietary Ca level. In vitro it appears that CaPi is effective in decreasing the solubility of bile salts, chiefly in acidic conditions. In conclusion there is in the large intestine a system of control of luminal pH, which involves the presence of insoluble Ca and Pi.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)