AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 261, Issue 1 1-G8, Copyright © 1991 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Absorption of lactose from colon of newborn piglet

R. D. Murray, A. H. Ailabouni, P. A. Powers, H. J. McClung, B. U. Li, L. A. Heitlinger and H. R. Sloan
Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University, Children's Hospital, Columbus 43205.

Piglets in three age groups (1-3, 9-11, and 16-25 days after birth) were used for in vivo colonic perfusions. Studies compared an isosmolar (312 mosM) with a high osmolar (551 mosM) solution and two equimolar substrates (with hexose concentrations of 73.1 mM), lactose and glucose-galactose. From the isosmolar perfusates, lactose absorption was 0.43 +/- 0.04 in the 18-20 day olds and 1.04 +/- 0.2 mumol.cm-1.min-1 in the 1-3 day olds; absorption from the glucose-galactose solution was negligible in all age groups (less than 0.05 +/- 0.05 mumol.cm-1.min-1). From the high osmolar perfusate, lactose absorption also exceeded that of glucose and galactose. In a third set of perfusion studies, the concentration of lactose was varied between 15 and 240 mM perfusate. Five-day-old animals absorbed 67% more lactose than 18-day-old animals; the right colon absorbed 57% more than the left. Lactose absorption, correlated with its concentration in the perfusate (r = 0.99), was nonsaturable at concentrations up to 240 mM, and was correlated with the uptake both of sodium (r2 = 0.59 for young and 0.64 for older neonates) and of chloride (r2 = 0.55 for young and 0.31 for older neonates). The results suggest that lactose may be removed from the colon without apparent cleavage by beta-galactosidase.

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