THE AGING GUT MOTILITY DECAY: MAY SYMBIOTICS BE ACTING AS BIOLOGICAL PACE-MAKERS?
Y. Metugriachuk, F. Marotta, O. Kuroi, K. Pavasuthipaisit, J. Tsuchiya, A. Lorenzetti, E. Fesce, E. Minelli
Hepato-Gastroenterology Unit, S. Giuseppe Hospital, via Pisanello, 4, 20146 Milano, Italy
In recent years it has been shown how dysbiosis, through several
mechanisms, may affect the gut motor and sensory activity and this hold
particularly relevant during the physiological age-related microflora
derangement. We investigated under well-controlled and carefully
characterized conditions the influence of a symbiotic formulation on
the myoelectric activity of the small intestine and colon of 18-month
aged male Wistar rats. Rats were fasted for 12h before the experiments
which were carried out at regular timing. Under pentobarbital
anaesthesia (25-50 mg/kg i.p.) bipolar copper electrodes with
silver-chloride plating at their recording end were implanted into the
muscular wall of small intestine and colon. After an average
postoperative period of 5 days, control recording of basal myoelectric
activity were obtained. Afterwards, rats were randomly coded and
divided into 3 groups (8 animals each). Group A was given a standard
chow diet, group B was given the same diet mixed with a symbiotic
preparation (Lab Helveticus/bifidobacteria in a vitamin/ion medium,
SCM-III, Named srl, Lesmo, Italy) and group C was treated as group B
but with heat-inactivated symbiotic at the same dosage. Four-month rats
served as the "young" counterpart control group. Defecation features
(frequency, daily g excretion/day and individual gram excretion/time)
were assessed too. SCM-III. was able to significantly increase
(overshoot) the myoelectric activity of the small intestine as measured
by means of the frequency and duration of spike bursts as compared to
age-control animals (either fed normal chow or heat-inactivated
symbiotic) (p<0.01) and paralleling values obtained in the "young"
group. However, as compared to regular chow-fed animals, rats fed
heat-inactivated symbiotic showed a significant increase of the
frequency of spike burst in the transverse and distal colon (p<0.05).
Nonetheless, SCM-III was the only treatment bringing about a
significant increase of the frequency and duration of spike bursts in
the jejunum, transverse and distal colon while decreasing the intervals
of migrating motor complex in the colon (p<0.01) as well as the
frequency of defecation (p<0.05), thus normalizing these parameters to
"young" group values. Stool daily excretion (g/d) and the amplitude of
the spike bursts did not change, irrespective of the treatment
employed. Taken together, these data suggest that gut flora
manipulation through an indirect modulation of myolectric activity can
reverse age-related motility decay.
Key words:
aging gut, motility, symbiotics
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