Effect of cadmium on D-galactose transport across the small intestine of rabbits.

Cadmium compounds are found widely in the environment: for example, in food, water, soil and ambient air. The most important exposure route of animals to cadmium in the general environment is oral. The aim of the present work was to determine how cadmium acts on the intestinal absorption of sugars by rabbits. Results obtained show that cadmium decreases both D-galactose accumulation in the jejunum tissue, and mucosal to serosal transepithelial fluxes of this sugar, in a dose-dependent way. Furthermore, cadmium seems not to modify the sugar diffusion across the intestinal epithelium. This inhibitory mechanism is non-competitive and it is partly reversed with dithioerythritol (thiol groups protector). Therefore, these results suggest that cadmium decreases carrier-mediated intestinal absorption of sugar in rabbits.