Effect of indigestible oligosaccharides on the hepatotoxic action of D-galactosamine in rats.

The effects of dietary oligosaccharides on the hepatotoxic action of D-galactosamine (GalN) were investigated in this study. Male Wistar rats fed with 20% casein diets containing 10% oligosaccharide or D-galactose (Gal) for 2 weeks were injected with GalN (1,900 mg/kg of body weight), and the plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities and the hepatic glycogen concentration were examined 20 hours after the injection. The plasma AST and ALT activities in experiment 1 for the Gal + neomycin (NEO) group were significantly lower than those for the control (C), NEO, raffinose (RAF) + NEO and galacto-oligosaccharide (GA-LO) + NEO groups. In experiment 2, these activities were significantly lower in the Gal, Gal + NEO and RAF groups than in the RAF + NEO group when the groups were treated with GalN. On the other hand, in respect of the hepatic glycogen concentration in experiment 1, that of the Gal + NEO group was higher than that of the C, NEO, RAF + NEO or GALO + NEO groups. In experiment 2, this parameter was significantly higher in the Gal, Gal + NEO and RAF groups than in the RAF + NEO group after the GalN treatment. As a result, it is suggested that the GalN-hepatitis-suppressive effects of indigestible oligosaccharides such as RAF or GALO is mediated by the action of intestinal bacteria.