SUPPLEMENTATION OF ORAL NUTRITION WITH PANCREATIC-ENZYMES IMPROVES THE NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF AGED ENDOTOXEMIC RATS

Malnutrition is a common problem in elderly people. The association of malnutrition and physical illness or injury leads to both localized a nd general complications. In particular, impairment of the adaptive re sponse of pancreatic function to undernutrition and refeeding may adve rsely affect nutritional status and elicit morbidity and mortality. Ag ed rats (24 mo old) were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. Coli (3 mg/kg body weight). Six days later, survivors were randomized to receive, for 7 days, an oral chow diet enriched with either a panc reatic extract (PE) (2.4 mg/day) or an isonitrogenous supply of casein (CAS). Endotoxemia induced a catabolic state, with a body weight loss of 7.6 +/- 1.1% on day two after LPS treatment. Mean food intake from day 6 to day 13 was similar in LPS-PE and LPS-CAS groups (19.0 +/- 5. 6 versus 19.7 +/- 6.9 g). The metabolic response varied according to t he type of muscle studied. In fast (white) muscle, the protein content and the glutamine pool remained markedly depleted in endotoxemic rats receiving casein supplementation. In contrast, enrichment of nutritio n with PE significantly limited the LPS-induced muscle wasting and inc reased the muscle glutamine content. As in previous observations, no s ignificant change occurred in slow (red) muscle. These results could i ndicate that PE supplementation counteracts pancreatic deficiency caus ed by aging and worsened by stress and this, in turn, could improve th e efficiency of nutrition, to support the hypermetabolism of aged inju red rats.